Kurd Area Is Likely Candidate for Korean Troop Deployment

The United States is expected to inform the Korean government of two candidate locations where Korean “Zaitoon” troops deployed to Iraq will station around at the end of this week.

Especially as America excluded the southern Najaf area from the candidate sites for Korean troops, the northern Kurd autonomous area looms as a powerful candidate site for Korean troops.

The Korean ambassador to America, Han Sung-joo, on March 29 visited the American Central Army Command Headquarters which controls Iraq and Afghanistan, and talked with its commander, John Abijade. In a joint news conference with the deputy commander Lans Smith, Ambassador Han quoted the commander Abijade as saying “he can understand well the Korean National Assembly’s decision to dispatch its troops to Iraq for the peace keeping and reconstruction of Iraq.”

The deputy commander Smith said that “there were three candidate sites at the beginning for the Korean troops, including Kirkuk, but they concluded that Kirkuk is an area needing security activities rather than peace keeping and reconstruction activities.”

As for Najaf, the other candidate site, he said that “it is a very narrow area,” adding that “even if the Spanish troops pull back from Najaf, the Korean troops will take charge of a larger independent area, and it will be the place for Korean troops to concentrate all their energies on peacekeeping and reconstruction.”

Accordingly, it is highly probable that the northern Kurd area, including Erbil, Sulaimania, and Dorhuk, will be chosen for Korean dispatch troops. Erbil and Sulaimania were known to be examined by America as a candidate site for Korean troops a long time ago.

The deputy commander Smith made it clear that “Korean troops will apply themselves to peacekeeping and reconstruction activities while conducting usual military operations such as defensive patrols, and there will be no U.S.–ROK joint offensive operations.”

However, in connection with the safety issue of the Korean forces, the deputy commander Smith said that “considering that there is no place which is not dangerous in Iraq, it is natural to think that combat can happen anytime.”

Soon-Taek Kwon maypole@donga.com