U.S. Officially Asked South Korea to Dispatch 320 Navy and Air Force Personnel

The Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday that the U.S. has officially asked South Korea to dispatch a tank landing ship (LST) with a crew of 170, four C-130 transport aircraft with 150 flight, and two liaison officers.

This is the second U.S. request for military aid in the ongoing war against terrorism following the request for 130 medical aid personnel and the liaison officers` team on November 14th.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense Hwang Ui-Don said, "We are still discussing with the U.S. regarding timing and places for deployment. We plan to complete all the procedures for the deployment before 20th, and to hold an organizing ceremony for the deployment of military units by the Army, Navy, and Air Force separately."

According to the military source, the 130-member mobile army surgical hospital (MASH), along with the U.S. Marine troops, will be dispatched in Kyrgyzstan north of Afghanistan around Christmas. 16 marines will accompany them for the guard duty.

The Air Force transport aid team will be in charge of transferring military supplies while being stationed in Ghimhae, Kyungnam, which is the middle point of the U.S. Pacific Headquarters and Afghanistan. The Navy transport aid team will move to Southeast Asia to carry out military operations.

`Agreement bill on the dispatch of the Korean armed forces in the war against terrorism` was passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly yesterday.

Sung Dong-Ki esprit@donga.com