S. Korea to send warship to Somali waters next month: defense minister

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will deploy a retrofitted warship to
pirate-plagued Somali waters next month if the National Assembly endorses the
move at a plenary session next week, the country's top defense official said
Thursday.

The parliamentary National Defense Committee passed the motion Thursday morning
for the session scheduled for next week. The bill calls for South Korean
participation in U.S.-led international efforts to fight piracy off the coast of
Somalia.
Defense officials say the likelihood of approval remains high.
About 460 South Korean ships each year ply the Gulf of Aden route, a vital
shipping lane where over 110 pirate-related incidents took place in 2008,
according to the government. Five South Koreans on a Japanese-owned cargo ship
were released last week after months of captivity by Somali pirates.
Speaking at a committee hearing, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said South Korea's
2003-built Munmu the Great destroyer will likely to be deployed in mid-March once
the bill is passed.
He added the 4,500-ton warship will be rigged with guns aimed at repelling
close-range threats, while the 310-strong deployment will be named after a
historical Korean naval base, "Cheonghae," which was set up in the 9th century to
fight piracy off the southwestern coast.
"There are many possible scenarios of attack by pirates," Lee said. "We will
respond by taking into account past cases and international law when we
coordinate our methods of operation."
It will take approximately three weeks for the destroyer to travel between South
Korea and Somalia, Lee said.
Pirates are reported to use conventional weapons, such as automatic weapons and
rocket launchers, and capture commercial vessels by clambering aboard them with
ladders and grappling hooks.
The 2008 figure for piracy is a five-fold jump from two years earlier. Somalia
has not had a functional government nor maritime authorities since its dictator
was dethroned by warlords in 1991.
Poverty has also driven a large number of farmers and fishermen to become
pirates, and black market sales of weapons run rampant.
A number of countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and
Russia, have joined the anti-piracy campaign that encompasses the Gulf of Aden,
and South Korea plans to focus on protecting vessels of its own nationality.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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