The South Korean government is considering putting a group of marines on standby to take on peacekeeping missions abroad at the request of the United Nations, a military source here said Wednesday.
"The Marine Corps is fully ready to take on any missions here or abroad when ordered," the source said, asking not to be identified. "The Corps is considering establishing a unit of some 150 troops strictly for peacekeeping operations."
The company-sized unit, if established, will be tasked to guard the country's main peacekeeping operations forces, the source said, noting the Defense Ministry has already been informed of the plan and has finished a feasibility study.
The ministry has been pushing to enact a law that would allow it to put some 1,000 troops on standby for PKO missions. A bill to that effect is still pending at the National Assembly.
Renowned for exceptional combat skills and harsh training, the Marine Corps has never been deployed overseas on a PKO mission, while only 21 marines are currently overseas on guard or administrative missions in several conflict areas in Iraq, Pakistan and the Sudan.
The country's Marine Corps boasts some 20,000 soldiers, the second largest in the world after that of the United States. (Yonhap)