ID :
86863
Fri, 10/30/2009 - 16:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/86863
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea to send troops to Afghanistan: ministry
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea announced a plan Friday to dispatch troops to Afghanistan with a mission to protect its civilian workers in the war-torn and terrorism-prone country.
The planned dispatch of more than 200 soldiers and about two dozen police comes
as Seoul works to expand its Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan
as part of efforts to play a bigger role in the international community.
South Korea has been under growing pressure to provide more contributions,
commensurate with its national power and enhanced global status, to the troubled
U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan government has asked our government through various channels to
expand support for the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. In an
effort to more actively participate in the efforts, the (South Korean) government
has decided to expand PRT," foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said in a
statement read out in front of television cameras.
He said police and troops will be dispatched as well only to safeguard PRT
workers from terror threats. Moon stressed that security forces will not take
part in any kind of combat except for when it is needed to protect PRT members.
Ministry sources said the government plans to operate an independent PRT in an
Afghan province, composed of about 130 civilians and 200-300 military personnel.
Currently, 25 South Korean medical staff and vocational training experts work
inside the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, north of Kabul, to help the U.S.-led
PRT.
Candidate areas for South Korea's PRT include Kabul, the central region of
Daykundi, and Nimroz, an western province bordering Iran, where no PRT is in
operation. PRT, in which civilians and military personnel work together, is a key
part of the U.N.-mandated International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
campaigning to stabilize and reconstruct the nation.
"The government will send a fact-finding team to Afghanistan next month before
deciding related details including where the PRT will be stationed and how many
personnel will be sent," a foreign ministry official said.
Troops are expected to be deployed early next year if the National Assembly
ratifies the move, he added.
lcd@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea announced a plan Friday to dispatch troops to Afghanistan with a mission to protect its civilian workers in the war-torn and terrorism-prone country.
The planned dispatch of more than 200 soldiers and about two dozen police comes
as Seoul works to expand its Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan
as part of efforts to play a bigger role in the international community.
South Korea has been under growing pressure to provide more contributions,
commensurate with its national power and enhanced global status, to the troubled
U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan government has asked our government through various channels to
expand support for the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. In an
effort to more actively participate in the efforts, the (South Korean) government
has decided to expand PRT," foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said in a
statement read out in front of television cameras.
He said police and troops will be dispatched as well only to safeguard PRT
workers from terror threats. Moon stressed that security forces will not take
part in any kind of combat except for when it is needed to protect PRT members.
Ministry sources said the government plans to operate an independent PRT in an
Afghan province, composed of about 130 civilians and 200-300 military personnel.
Currently, 25 South Korean medical staff and vocational training experts work
inside the U.S. Air Force Base in Bagram, north of Kabul, to help the U.S.-led
PRT.
Candidate areas for South Korea's PRT include Kabul, the central region of
Daykundi, and Nimroz, an western province bordering Iran, where no PRT is in
operation. PRT, in which civilians and military personnel work together, is a key
part of the U.N.-mandated International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
campaigning to stabilize and reconstruct the nation.
"The government will send a fact-finding team to Afghanistan next month before
deciding related details including where the PRT will be stationed and how many
personnel will be sent," a foreign ministry official said.
Troops are expected to be deployed early next year if the National Assembly
ratifies the move, he added.
lcd@yna.co.kr
