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A Letter Guaranteeing South Korean Troop’s Use of Airports

A Letter Guaranteeing South Korean Troop’s Use of Airports

Posted May. 20, 2004 22:03,   

한국어

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq sent a letter to the South Korean government stating that it would actively cooperate with South Korea on the dispatch of Korean troops to Iraq. Therefore, the government’s plan to send our “Zaitoon” unit to Iraq will be advanced more rapidly.

On Thursday, one senior member of the Kurdish Legislative Council said that the Kurdistan Regional Government sent its letter signed by Nechervan Idris Barzani, the prime minister, to a South Korean government delegation including South Korean Ambassador to Iraq, Lim Hong-jae, on Tuesday. This letter says it welcomes the dispatch of Korean troops and will fully cooperate to use airports in Irbil and Sulaimaniyah in case the Koreans troops are deployed. The Kurdistan Regional Government has been controlling over Irbil and Dohuk among the three Kurdish autonomous regions.

The Kurdish Legislative Council, which is composed of representatives from the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) ruling Irbil and Dohuk and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ruling Sulaimaniyah, reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government to welcome the dispatch of Korean troops.

After it had a meeting with the representatives of the Kurdish Legislative Council on Tuesday, a South Korean government delegation reportedly discussed with Nechervan Idris Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, about issues regarding the use of Irbil Airport and the presence of Korean troops in its neighborhoods in detail on Wednesday. Ahead of it, South Korean Ambassador to Iraq, Lim Hong-jae, visited Irbil with Choi Jong-il, a brigadier general and deputy division commander for the operation of the “Zaitoon” unit, and a senior member of the U.S. forces on Tuesday.

Reportedly, the South Korean government is likely to decide the troop deployment after it has a meeting of a standing committee under the National Security Council, based on the working-level negotiations with the Kurdistan Regional Government.



Sung-Won Joo swon@donga.com