SKorea vows to go ahead with Afghan troop dispatch

[unhappycamper]

SKorea vows to go ahead with Afghan troop dispatch
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press Writer
Dec 10, 6:07 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea vowed Thursday to press ahead with plans to send troops back to Afghanistan despite a Taliban threat of retaliation.

South Korea, a longtime U.S. ally, said it would send up to 350 troops next year to protect its civilian aid workers working in the province of Parwan, about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Taliban said in a statement Wednesday that the move would violate a South Korean promise in 2007 to withdraw from Afghanistan permanently in exchange for the release of 21 hostages.

Officials from South Korea's Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff denied Thursday that the government made such a promise to the Taliban. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

Twenty-three South Koreans were taken hostage in 2007 after their government had already decided to remove its troops from Afghanistan. Two of the hostages were killed by the Taliban, who demanded that the South Korean troops be withdrawn immediately.


Rest of article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN_SKOREA?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-10-06-07-36