He made this remark during a meeting with Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-woong at the Defense Ministry building, adding, “We think highly of the Korean troop dispatch in our region, Arbil, and appreciate their efforts to help our people.” He also emphatically said, “Our people in Arbil think of Korean troops not as guests but as part of our community.”

Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-woong shakes hands with Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday, who paid a courtesy call on him. /Yonhap

Then, during a press conference held after the meeting with Yoon, Barzani said, “To protect Korean soldiers and people, we are closely cooperating with the Korean military liaison command, Kurdish Interior Minister, and Kurdish 'peshmerga' militia.” In particular, he emphatically said, “I also sufficiently explained to the Korean Defense Minister that we put the highest priority on the safety of Korean troops and the people. The peshmerga will make every effort to tightly guard Korean troops around their stationed area.”

After having lunch with Yoon, Kurdish Prime Minister also met with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan, and key Zayitun Unit commanders. He is visiting Korea at the invitation of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, which is in charge of the program that invites Iraqi high-ranking officials to Korea in order to create a “pro-Korean environment” in Iraq with the dispatch of Korean troops.

The minister was the first Kurdish government official to officially welcome the Korean troop dispatch in June and has been actively supporting the dispatch since then. He has allowed the Korean facility preparation team, which has been carrying out its duties in the Arbil area since mid-July, to station at Arbil Airport.

(Yoo Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )