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S.Korean unit to be sent to Iraq established

PLA Daily 2004-02-24

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The South Korean military unit to besent to Iraq established on Monday in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, some 40 kilometers south to Seoul.

According to South Korean Yonhap news Agency, South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-kil, members of the National Assembly'sNational Defense Committee and the 840 soldiers to be dispatched to Iraqi northern city of Kirkuk attended the establishment ceremony.

Kirkuk's provincial governor, Abdul-Rahman M. Fattah, and his aides also took part in the ceremony at an army base in Gwangju.

South Korean parliament recently ratified government bill to send additional more than 3,000 troops, including some 800 security forces, to Iraq.

Some 500 South Korean engineers and medics have been dispatchedto Iraq last year at the request of the United States.

According to the government plan, Seoul will send two batches of advance teams in early April before the dispatch of the main contingent later that month.

At the same time, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday the South Korean Iraq-bound troops will be allowed to use military weapons only for self-defense after a three-stage warningprocedure.

According to Col. Shin Hyun-don, head of the JCS's operations bureau, in the first stage, the South Korean troops should aim their guns at the wheels of vehicles or the legs of people. If thedangerous situation continues, the next two steps are to use gestures and then fire warning shots into the sky.

Shin stressed the main roles of the South Korean troops will beto assist in reconstruction and peace-restoring activities and take defensive measures against hostilities in their area of responsibility.