Given that discussions between governmental officials and politicians, consultations with the United States, and a period of preparation prior to the dispatch would be needed even after the bill is approved, governmental officials predict that the date for the troop dispatch would be after the 17th general elections take place on April 15, 2004.

The government is preparing a motion based on guidelines that President Roh Moo-hyun issued on Nov. 11: either sending technical-oriented troops consisting of engineers and medical crews, or dispatching combat troops for peacekeeping and assisting in the rebuilding of a designated region in Iraq. The motion has not yet been submitted to the Assembly.

Officials have consistently maintained that the dispatch motion could be agreed upon by the president and the leaders of the four parties and be endorsed in the Assembly by as early as December. After going through negotiations with the United States and a preparation period for two to three months, Korea could send troops by spring 2004, the officials said.

A governmental official said that after the final agreement is reached, the government will have to negotiate the details with the United States on when and where to dispatch the troops. The motion will therefore be finalized by no earlier than early next year, and if the motion is passed in an extraordinary session of the National Assembly, the government will be able to send additional troops to Iraq after the general election in April, the official said.

The government ordered Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuk, who is to visit Washington on December 3 to discuss the details of the second round of the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear development, to seek an understanding with the U.S. government about the delay. (Kwon Kyung-bok, kkb@chosun.com )