S. Korean troops may have to fight Taliban in Afghanistan: defense head

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense minister on Thursday challenged
the assumption that his country's troops will only play a "non-combat" role if
they are deployed to Afghanistan, where the U.S. is fighting insurgents.

The comments by Kim Tae-young came after the foreign ministry announced this week
that a 300-strong "non-combat" unit will be sent to Afghanistan to assist in a
reconstruction mission there.
"The (wording) has arisen from a lack of understanding about the military," Kim
told a parliamentary hearing. "Essentially, non-combat troops are not different
from combat troops."
"It's possible that they will be dragged into a battle and sustain damages," Kim
said, adding the troops would not attack unless they were first attacked by the
Taliban.
The nature of the troop deployment is a potentially volatile issue here, as many
South Koreans think their soldiers do not need to be dragged into what they view
as a U.S. war.
Any overseas deployment requires parliamentary approval. South Korea announced
the plan for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) days after U.S. Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates visited Seoul for annual security talks last week and
called on the Asian ally to play a greater role in global security.
The comments were viewed by watchers as pressure on the South Korean government
to send combat troops to help U.S. operations in Afghanistan. They also came
ahead of next month's scheduled visit to South Korea by U.S. President Barack
Obama, who will be on a four-nation Asian trip.
Foreign ministry insiders say South Korea wants to increase the number of its
civilian workers in Afghanistan to around 130. The PRT team would be missioned to
protect those workers, they say.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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