Seoul Mulls Creating Stand-By PKO Force
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea is considering organizing a 1,000-strong stand-by force to support international peacekeeping operations (PKO) at the request of the United Nations, an official of the Ministry of National Defense said Sunday.
Plans to support heavy equipment, transport helicopters and ships for U.N. peacekeeping missions are also under consideration, the official said, adding these plans are to be reported to the presidential transition committee Tuesday.
``The ministry plans to form a 1,000-strong ready troops for peacekeeping operations to rapidly respond to a U.N. request,'' said the official. ``To that end, we will seek to revise laws pertaining to the deployment of peacekeeping troops to foreign countries.''
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade, recently asked the transition team of President-elect Lee Myung-bak to consider plans for increasing South Korea's participation in U.N. peacekeeping efforts to meet the country's economic status in the international community, according to reports.
Seoul is the 10th largest donor to the U.N. in the world. Its troop contribution to the international organization remains 36th.
Ban reportedly requested South Korea to dispatch PKO forces and transport aircraft to conflict-ridden regions around the world, including Sudan's border region of Darfur.
A genocidal conflict in Darfur has killed 200,000 people and driven millions from their homes, according to a U.N. report.
As the first 9,000 troops and police of a beefed-up U.N./African Union force began deploying in Darfur in recent weeks, awaiting 17,000 follow-on troops, they were being set up for failure due to the lack of transport and attack helicopters the peacekeepers need to provide firepower and mobility, reports said.
Currently, about 400 South Korean troops are taking part in U.N. peacekeeping operations in eight countries, including the 350-strong Dongmyeong unit stationed in Lebanon.
The unit has been working with the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since last July to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and ensure the stability of the central Lebanese government in the area.