Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin is on a five-day trip to Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to encourage South Korean troops stationed there, ministry officials said Wednesday.
Kim arrived Monday in Afghanistan and inspected the conditions of about 340 troops there to protect South Korea's provincial reconstruction team comprising civilian aid workers, officials said.
Kim then headed for the UAE to meet about 120 troops in the Middle Eastern country, according to the defense ministry.
The Korean contingent in Afghanistan recently moved to a newly built base in the northern Afghan province of Parwan since it had been stationed at a U.S. air base in Bagram since June last year.
The "Ashena" unit is tasked with guarding government-assigned Korean workers who provide residents in Parwan with medical services, job training and other services. Ashena means "friend" or "colleague" in Parwan's local language.
Last month, a contingent of about 120 Korean troops was dispatched to the UAE with missions to train local special forces and conduct joint exercises with UAE forces.
It was Kim's first trip to Afghanistan and the UAE since he became commander-in-chief last December. Kim was scheduled to return home on Friday, ministry officials said. (Yonhap)