|
President Roh Moo-hyun told U.S. President George W. Bush that Korea is willing to take part in multilateral peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Wednesday, prompting hot denials from Cheong Wa Dae. In a speech on the second day of ¡°Korea and the United States 2006,¡± a security conference jointly sponsored by the Chosun Ilbo and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Hill said Roh agreed in the bilateral summit on Sept. 14 to pitch in, adding Korea will dispatch a fact-finding team to the battered nation. Roh told Bush Korea would first dispatch observers to investigate the situation on the ground, and the U.S. president welcomed the idea, according to Hill.
Hill, a former ambassador to Seoul, said Roh¡¯s remarks demonstrated that Korea, as the world¡¯s 11th largest economy, is willing to play an active part in promoting peace in the world. However, the diplomat told reporters after the seminar that there had been no direct discussion between Korea and the U.S. government on peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, which is led by European countries.
 |
|
Participants in ¡®Korea and the United States 2006,¡¯ a conference jointly sponsored by the Chosun Ilbo and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. Clockwise from left, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, former foreign minister Han Seung-joo, Prof. Hyun In-taek of Korea University, Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Victor Cha, former National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Michael Green, and Prof. Paik Jin-hyun of Seoul National University.
|
 |
|
The UN is seeking to boost the number of peacekeeping troops from the current 2,000 to 15,000 to end conflict in southern Lebanon that escalated when Israel invaded its neighbor to attack Hezbollah strongholds there. Hill also said the two presidents discussed Seoul¡¯s promise to keep Korean troops in Iraq.
However, Cheong Wa Dae denies Hill¡¯s account. ¡°There was no discussion during the summit on extending our troop presence in Iraq,¡± a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said. ¡°There may have been discussion on dispatching troops to Lebanon via other dialogue channels, but there was none in the talks between presidents Roh and Bush.¡±
Nonetheless, the government is said to be mulling whether to send an infantry or engineer battalion to join the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, and will determine the size of the contingent after the fact-finding team to be dispatched next month completes its work there. ¡°The government thinks it is reasonable to send one infantry or engineer battalion to Lebanon, and no more,¡± a government source said, depending on what the team reports back. If the government decides to send an infantry contingent, who could take part in actual fighting, it may ignite a debate about their safety much like the one that greeted Seoul¡¯s decision to send troops to Iraq.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
