Seoul considering troop deployment to Afghanistan

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is carefully considering the deployment of military or police troops to Afghanistan to protect its civilian aid workers operating in the war-torn country, a ranking government source in Seoul said Thursday.

"The government's relevant ministries and agencies are studying a plan to send guard troops to Afghanistan to protect South Korean nationals engaged in medical and reconstruction services there," said the source, asking to remain anonymous. "But it has yet to be determined whether military or police troops will be sent."

At present, about 30 South Korean civilian aid workers are staying in Afghanistan, and the number is expected to steadily rise in the future. But South Korea now entirely depends on the U.S. for the protection of the Afghanistan-based South Koreans.

Government officials in Seoul have been divided over the issue of sending armed forces to Afghanistan due to its sensitive nature, said the source, forecasting it will be difficult for the government to reach a conclusion in the near future. In particular, the main opposition Democratic Party and other opposition parties are stubbornly opposed to dispatching troops to Afghanistan.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told parliament last week that the government will make its final decision on the Afghan issue after taking into full consideration the "national interest, public opinions and trends in international society."

In this regard, a lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party said, "There has been no official request from the U.S. government. But the possibility of South Korea sending its troops to Afghanistan cannot be ruled out, as long as they don't engage in combat operations."

"But the issue should be carefully approached in consideration of public sentiment."

Officials at the presidential office and the defense ministry also said the government has not reached any decision on the issue of dispatching troops to Afghanistan.
Yonhap