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National Security Council is All-Ear to the Public Opinion

National Security Council is All-Ear to the Public Opinion

Posted September. 18, 2003 23:17,   

한국어

It is reported that the U.S. has requested Korea dispatch its military in scale between a brigade and a division to Iraq and orchestrate the multinational forces in the nation.

According to presidential spokesperson Park Jin, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Richard Lawless mentioned a self-sustaining-scale of the military support from Korea in brigade-to-division size during a meeting in Washington D.C. on Sept. 17 local time with Choi Byung-nyul, the president of the Grand National Party.

˝We sent a clear message to Korea that the U.S. hopes for the dispatched Korean army to take the central role in managing the multinational forces in Iraq,˝ said the deputy defense secretary, adding, ˝If Korea accepts our proposal, Korea will assume the responsibility and experience for the first time in orchestrating foreign military forces, modeling the Polish multinational division.˝

Regarding a press report in Korea, saying, ˝The U.S. may transfer the second division of the U.S. Army in Korea to Iraq if Korea refuses military support,˝ the deputy secretary announced, ˝The report is completely irrelevant.˝

In the meanwhile, the National Security Council convened a standing committee meeting yesterday to reaffirm the Korean government`s stance of a prudent response while reflecting the public opinion over the issue of sending Korean combatants to Iraq.

At the meeting, committee members decided to send a joint investigation team on September 23 to study the local situations before deciding whether to dispatch Korean soldiers to Iraq. The team will comprise of 12 government officials from the defense ministry and the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) as well as experts from the private sector. Private experts will include Doctor Shim Gyung-wook of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses and two college professors with the major of Middle East issues.

A ministerial meeting will be held during next week, in which President Roh Moo-hyun presides over while Prime Minster Goh Gun and relevant ministers attend to discuss the military support issues.

While attending the House Steering Committee on the day at the National Assembly, Yu, In-tae, presidential chief adviser on political affairs, expressed regret over his previous remark as inappropriate. He said before, ˝Dispatching combats to Iraq is senseless.˝



Yeon-Wook Jung Jeong-Hun Kim jyw11@donga.com jnghn@donga.com