By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

The government remains unchanged in its plan to send civilian workers and security forces to help reconstruct Afghanistan, despite attacks on South Korean companies there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thursday.

No casualties were reported but excavators and other heavy equipment were set on fire, ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.

Korean companies in the war-torn country were recently attacked by unidentified armed groups and sustained some financial damage.

``There is no evidence that those attacks were made to thwart our plan to send more Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) members and security forces,'' Moon told reporters.

``Putting a priority on our people's safety, the government will run the reconstruction team through close cooperation with NATO forces,'' he added.

On Oct. 30, the government announced plans to dispatch about 130 more PRT members, accompanied by some 300 troops, to Afghanistan. Earlier, Korea sent 25 civilian workers there.

The government plans to send a joint inspection team this month in order to assess how many workers and projects Afghanistan needs. But it refused to announce a fixed date, citing safety concerns.

According to the ministry, the first attack on a South Korean firm took place on Oct. 8 when a group of six gunmen rushed into a road construction site in Faryab Province.

The second attack occurred five days later as a group of 10 armed men raided the same company's road construction site in the neighboring Balkh Province.

Some documents and two jeeps were burned and vans were shot up, the report said, quoting an anonymous official of the ministry.

Most recently, a number of armed gunmen attacked the company's construction materials storage site in Balkh on Nov. 5 but drew back after a 10-minute firefight with Afghan police.

No groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks and the ministry has yet to determine why they were made.

Moon said the Korean Embassy in Kabul called on the Afghan government for more security forces to protect Korean workers.

He added that the ministry is reviewing measures to protect Korean people there and has advised people to immediately evacuate from dangerous areas

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr