Seoul to send 300 troops to Afghanistan

Seoul yesterday announced its decision to dispatch forces to Afghanistan to augment its civil operations there and join on-going international efforts against terrorism.

The government plans to send the 300-strong force aimed at protecting the civilian workers in the war-torn nation as participants of a Provincial Reconstruction Team. The size of the PRT group will also be raised to over 100, Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.

Currently a 25-staff team is operating as the PRT, under the protection of the United States` troops stationed at Bagram Air Base just above the Afghani capital of Kabul.



Seoul yesterday said it would combine the forces dispatch with plans to set up an independent base camp in one of three locales in Afghanistan-Kabul, Day Kundi or Nimroz. These are the only areas void of international troop camps.

Kabul is cited as one of the likelier candidates as it is the capital and close to the United States` Bagram Air Base.

There are currently 14 countries in Afghanistan operating PRTs established to reconstruct areas hit by the war led by the United States under a United Nations resolution.

A final decision will be made after the government sends out a due diligence team that will later on report back to Seoul on its findings.

Yu on Monday first indicated the government intends to send forces to Afghanistan in a meeting with legislators of a foreign affairs committee at the National Assembly.

Aware of potential public backlash over the move, the government stressed that the forces sent would be strictly a "non-combat" division.

The main purpose of the dispatch is to "comply" with international calls for support, the Foreign Ministry said, in addition to protecting the civilian PRT staff.

Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, however, previously warned that the "forces" may be forced to engage in involuntary cross fire.

This is why the forces are expected to be heavily armed, possibly with tanks and other ground equipment and vehicles.

Public uproar and political opposition are expected to be the main hurdles for the government as it seeks the latest dispatch, sources said.

Yu yesterday met with members of the main opposition Democratic Party. Party leader Chung Se-kyun said his party harbored "a basically negative perception" towards activities outside of peacekeeping operations.

The government will need to ultimately receive National Assembly approval for the dispatch.

Other negative sentiment touched on allegations that Seoul was under pressure by Washington to make a sizeable contribution ahead of a summit scheduled between presidents Lee Myung-bak and Barack Obama next month.

Both Korea and the United States have refuted such accusations.

Korea`s antipathy towards sending troops or any other type of contingent of in Afghanistan snowballed following a terrorist attack on a Korean missionary group in 2007. Two people were slain by the Taliban.

Later that year Korea withdrew its troops from Afghanistan on the Taliban demands.

Former Foreign Minister and DP lawmaker Song Min-soon yesterday said in a website posting on his homepage that while such a presence is required of Korea given its international status, the government is pressed to take necessary measures to prevent possible military conflict.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)







By Kim Ji-hyun