ROK LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE IN LEBANON; RENEW IN IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003008 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2014 TAGS: PARM PREL MARR PGOV KS SUBJECT: ROK LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE IN LEBANON; RENEW IN IRAQ Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 31, POL-MIL Chief met with Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials during a round of courtesy calls and asked about the status of deliberations on ROK troop commitments to UNIFIL and Iraq. Several MND officials stated that the ROK will likely contribute a 30-40 person medical team to UNIFIL. They also indicated the ROKG will renew its troops in Iraq, but with further reductions likely in its contingent. Both actions will require approval by the National Assembly, but Defense Committee members from both the ruling and opposition party told the Embassy during meetings earlier in the week that both proposals would likely pass. End Summary. -------------- ROK UNIFIL Contribution: Medical Team -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Kim, Jung-sup, Director for International Policy Division, commented that the ROKG is "cautious" about contributing to UNIFIL because of security concerns in Lebanon. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung is scheduled to meet with other South Korean government ministers on August 31 to discuss the ROK contribution to UNIFIL, Kim said, adding that a formal decision is likely to be made by early September. Kim said the ROKG will likely send a team to Lebanon to assess the situation on the ground before the final decision is made. He opined that the National Assembly is likely to approve this contribution to UNIFIL, but cautioned that the approval process will be time consuming. ¶3. (C) In a separate meeting, COL Chun In-bum, Director of MND's American Policy Division, predicted the ROK's UNIFIL contribution will be limited to a team of 30 to 40 nurses and doctors, "not a battalion level unit as desired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade," Chun said. -------------- --- ROK Iraq Contribution: To Be Renewed But Reduced -------------- --- ¶4. (SBU) Turning to Iraq, COL Chun stated that ROK troops in Irbil will be reduced to 2,700 by the end of 2006, followed by an expected further reduction to 1,300 in 2007. Chun commented that MND plans to request an extension for its troops in Iraq in November. He added that the Korean business community strongly supports a continued ROK presence in Iraq as a potentially rewarding investment in future economic relations with that country. ¶5. (SBU) In meetings at the National Assembly on August 28th, Kim Hak-song, Vice Chair of the Defense Committee and a member of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP),stated that the GNP supported ROK contributions to international peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon and Iraq. While voicing less support, Defense Committee Chair Yoo, Hak-kun of the ruling URI party predicted that both of the aforementioned ROK contributions to Lebanon and Iraq would "eventually" pass the National Assembly, "but probably at the very last minute," as was the case in 2005. STANTON