Cheney thanks S.Korea for Iraq-bound troop dispatch plan

US Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday praised and thanked South Korea for its decision to contribute troops to US-led coalition forces in Iraq.

"Our nation is grateful to your commitment to peace and stability in this region and beyond. We applaud your brave decision to support the cause of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq,"Cheney told reporters at the US military headquarters in central Seoul.

"(South) Koreans had faced adversity before and have been steady in their determination to protect freedom and democracy as you are doing so now," he said.

"I just completed a very good round of talks with acting president Goh and members of the Korean government. Our alliance, formed half a century ago is vital and strong," he said.

Cheney said Washington is committed to peacefully resolving the nuclear issue of the peninsular.

He also stressed the DPRK must agree to end its nuclear program for good.

"Our nations also stand together in insisting on a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons and the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of North Korea's nuclear programs," he said.

Cheney flew here from China on Thursday evening. Seoul is the third and final leg of his three-nation Asian trip that also included a visit to Japan.

Shortly before speaking to reporters, Cheney held talks with South Korea's Prime Minister and Acting President Goh Kun on Iraq and other bilateral issues.

South Korean President has been suspended his presidential rights from March 12, when the outgoing National Assembly passed impeachment bill against him.

Currently, the impeachment case is under processing in the Constitutional Court, which should give final ruling before mid-September.

In response to a US request, South Korea plans to send some additional 3,600 troops to help reconstruction efforts in Iraq by this June.

Despite some delay in the deployment schedule, South Korean officials have repeatedly said there will be no change in Seoul's commitment to sending troops.

However, recent hostage-takings and violence in Iraq touched off fresh calls for cancellation of the troop deployment plan amid concerns that South Korea may become a target of terrorists.

Anti-deployment voices are expected to gain ground in parliament with the election of some new lawmakers in Thursday's general election.

Lawmaker-elect Kwon Young-kil, leader of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), said Friday that his party would introduce a motion in the new parliament to scrap the troop deployment plan. The new legislature is set to open on June 1.

Source: Xinhua