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Amid the ever-worsening security situation in Iraq, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said through the Korean Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday that Korean residents should either take temporary shelter in neighboring countries or return to Korea until the situation stabilizes. Presently, there are 128 Koreans staying in Iraq including 14 employees of public agencies, nine journalists and 105 civilians.
Meanwhile, the government sees a continuation of hostilities between American forces and the Iraqi resistance. Ahead of the April 15 general election, some politicians are calling for the abandonment of the plan to dispatch Korean troops to Iraq. The government has countered, saying that there will be no change in the policy on the troop dispatch in the interests of Korea¡¯s relationship with the United States and the nation¡¯s international credibility. Instead, the government is working on measures to cope with the ever-changing situation in Iraq.
¡°The current chaos is likely to continue until July 30, when the provisional government of Iraq is sworn in,¡± an official predicted. However, some have raised the possibility that the situation could get even worse after the transition.
The Korean government is also bracing for both domestic and foreign acts of terror on Koreans.
Acting President Goh Kun presided over a meeting of diplomatic and security-related ministers on Thursday and discussed contingency measures.
The National Security Counsel will also hold a standing committee meeting on Friday to discuss ways to push ahead with the troop dispatch plan while increasing activities to help the Iraqi rehabilitation operation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has implemented a system to check the conditions in Iraq and the safety of Korean residents on a daily basis.
(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )
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