By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Gen. Kim Tae-young, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), visited South Korean units stationed in the Middle East last week to review defensive readiness and civil support operations there, the JCS said in a news release.
Kim began a six-day trip to Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq Tuesday. His trip was kept secret due to security reasons, it said.
Kim first visited the compound of Dongmyeong unit stationed in Tyre, 83 kilometers south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, before moving onto a two day visit of the U.N. Interim Forces command in Lebanon (UNIFIL), it said.
Last July South Korea dispatched 350 troops to the southern region of Lebanon at the request of the United Nations to help oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and help ensure the stability of the central Lebanese government in the area.
The main missions of the Dongmyeong forces include road patrols and reconstruction work.
Kim also visited the Dayman transportation contingent in Kuwait before flying to northern Iraq, where about 600 Korean troops of the Zaytun Division are conducting humanitarian and rehabilitation operations, according to the release.
During his stay in Iraq, Kim met with key officials of the Multi-National Forces/Corps- Iraq (MNF/C-I), as well as President Massood Barzani of the Kurdistan regional government and senior defense officials of the central Iraqi government, it said.
Seoul first deployed 3,600 troops to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, controlled by the Kurdish, in 2004 to support the U.S.-led Operation Iraqi Freedom and help Iraqis reconstruct their war-torn nation.
The number of troops stationed there has gradually decreased since then due to opposition from war-weary lawmakers and progressive civic groups under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration.
The JCS chairman returned home early Monday.