S. Korea government to prolong sojourn of troops in Iraq

The South Korean Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan aimed at extending its troop deployment in Iraq, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

The plan was endorsed in a Cabinet held Tuesday afternoon, and South Korean government is planning to submit the proposal to the single-chamber legislature - National Assembly- for final approval, Yonhap said.

Despite strong public opposition, the ruling Uri Party-controlled parliament is expected to approve the government plan. The conservative Grand National Party is also a strong backer of the troop deployment in Iraq, seeing it as a chance to strengthen the alliance between Seoul and Washington.

Moreover, according to South Korean Defense Ministry, an additional 700 South Korean troops will head to northern Iraq on Wednesday to join more than 2,800 troops already operating there. It will fulfill South Korea's promise to the United States to deploy a total of 3,600 troops to the war-torn Arab country.

About a year ago, South Korea's National Assembly authorized the government to send 3,600 troops to Iraq on the condition that they be there until the end of 2004.

South Korean officials, mindful of security concerns, keep everything related to the troop deployment low profile. The troops in Iraq remain on heightened alert after a series of terrorist threats against them were posted on Arab Web sites in this October.

The messages threatened attacks on South Korean troops in Iraq unless Seoul cancels its troop dispatch plan.

Source: Xinhua