(LEAD) U.S. intelligence chief visited S. Korea over Afghan deployment: source

(ATTN: UPDATES with more quotes, background throughout)
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's intelligence chief
visited South Korea earlier this week to discuss Seoul's Afghan troop deployment
plans and North Korea's nuclear standoff, a government source said Friday.

The source, who declined to be identified, said that Dennis Blair, director of
National Intelligence, was in Seoul from Sunday through Tuesday and met with
senior South Korean officials, including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.
He also met with National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon.
"I'm aware that the trip was part of a regular Asian regional tour," the official
said.
The official said that Blair explained recent moves by Washington to increase
troop levels in the country, and listened to the South Korean deployment
timetable.
South Korea plans to send troops to protect a group of civilians working in the
Central Asian country where the U.S. is fighting an insurgency.
The Seoul government said last week after a weeklong fact-finding mission that it
is considering setting up a camp for soldiers and civilian workers in a northern
Afghan province.
The number of troops and security personnel to be deployed to Afghanistan to
protect South Korean volunteer workers -- set to increase to 130 -- will remain
under 400, according to the government.
Another government source, asking to be unnamed, said that talks regarding
Seoul's troop deployment "weren't deep," considering the routine nature of the
visit.
Blair is responsible for overseeing 16 intelligence organizations in the United
States such as the Central Intelligence Agency.
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