Change in Korean Troop Dispatch

“The U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq started discussions to shift the overall troops’ deployment there at the request of the South Korean Defense Ministry,” sources said

“The South Korean Military Authorities are considering Iraq’s southern region of Najaf and Nasiriyah. The U.S. forces are likely to discuss this plan with Polish and British forces, currently taking in charge of these regions,” one Korean Defense Ministry official said Sunday.

According to this source, American Military Authorities asked Korea about its troop dispatch to Iraq’s northern areas, Irbil and Sulaimaniyah, in case further negotiations within Coalition Forces fail. The U.S. forces are currently in charge of these areas: Irbil and Sulaimaniyah.

Korean forces are expected to be responsible for either part of Najaf independently or its whole area, with all Coalition Forces except the U.S. under their control. Najaf is 2.6 times larger than Kirkuk, where Korean troops originally were scheduled to be sent.

“The number of troops will never change from the original plan,” head of State Affairs Coordination Team Han Duk-soo said in a press interview Saturday.

Ho-Won Choi bestiger@donga.com