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The final touches are underway for the country's additional deployment of troops to Iraq. On Tuesday, the Cabinet backed a bill requesting the additional troops, which is to be submitted to the National Assembly, and military officials have announced the results of their agreements with the United States on the practical details, some of which have yet to be made public.
Area of responsibility and duties
U.S. and Korean officials have determined that Korea will be responsible for the province of At Ta'min. Earlier, it was thought that Korea would assume responsibility for the provincial capital, Kirkuk. Instead, the Korean military will establish a division command at Kirkuk and from there take command of the whole province, establishing brigades or battalions in the province's five major areas to engage in reconstruction work and peacekeeping.
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Lieutenant General Kim Jang-su is briefing reporters on the government plan to send additional troops to Iraq on Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in Seoul.
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Military authorities are saying that the security situation in Kirkuk is relatively stable, but that there have been four mortar attacks since August, in which five American soldiers have died and 50 have been injured.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is saying that Korean troops would be responsible for the training of Iraqi police, civil defense staff, and private guards, but that when required would become directly involved in maintaining public security. It says also that the United States is promising to help Korea with that responsibility by training 4,100 police, 2,600 militiamen, and around 800 private security guards by April next year.
The Ministry of National Defense will be finalizing rules of engagement for Korean forces in the area with the U.S. military. It is expecting some degree of controversy if Korea's peacekeeping work takes more precedence, since previously it was largely reconstruction work that was given more weight in public discussion.
Korea's deployment will be composed of a division command, communications, transportation, and other corps, and civil affairs and defense troops numbering between approximately 2,300 and 2,400. The division will be led by an army major general, and the brigades led by brigadier generals.
Cost and armaments
In principle, all expenses are to be handled by the Korean government. That would mean Korea would pay for the W230 billion in costs expected to be incurred between April and December of 2004. Korea's additional troops are to arrive in Kuwait by Air Force transport planes, then travel over land to their area of activity. While in transit they are to receive board and lodging with U.S. troops, but the cost of that support will also be assumed by Korea.
Oil, equipment, and other munitions support are to be supplied by U.S. troops, and helicopter assistance will also be given by the United States, with accounts to be settled later. A high-ranking official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff says that Korea's Seohui and Jema units already in Iraq are paying the United States for the use of their tents.
In anticipation of the potential for terrorist attacks, troops will be armed with personal firearms, mortars, K-6 heavy machine guns, K-4 high-speed grenade launchers, and K-200 armored vehicles. Various anti-tank weapons are also being considered, not just by the Koreans but also by the Japanese Self Defense Forces, as such weapons might be required to fight suicide attacks. Possible selections include light anti-tank weapons (LAW), Panzerfaust anti-tank rockets, and the Russian made Metis-M anti-tank missiles.
Future plans
The Ministry of National Defense and the Army plan to send a team of seven members to Iraq to discuss the transportation of Korean troops with the coalition command.
An advance party is to depart for Iraq in March. Beforehand, Korea's two units already in Iraq, Seohui and Jema, are to move to the Kirkuk area from Nasiriya, where they are currently stationed. Once in Kirkuk, they are to engage in humanitarian work to held the image of Korean troops. (Yu Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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