Dispatch of 300 Peacekeeping Troops to Haiti Mulled

Korea is considering deploying up to 300 peacekeeping troops to earthquake-ravaged Haiti comprised primarily of medics and engineers plus a small combat unit in charge of defense.

A government official said yesterday, “We need more discussion with the United Nations, but the size of the troops being considered is battalion scale,” adding, “The size will be no more than 300 soldiers.”

On the timing of the deployment, the official said, “Since the U.N. has asked us to send troops as early as possible, we will deploy them as soon as we finish preparation.”

“Because of the long and complicated process including parliamentary approval and prior inspection of the site for dispatch, we’ll need at least a month before the troops are deployed.”

mhpark@donga.com