Choe indicates GNP backs troop deployment

NEW YORK ― Choe Byung-yul, leader of the Grand National Party, indicated yesterday that the majority opposition party endorses the deployment of South Korean troops to Iraq. At the same time, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed optimism that the UN Security Council may approve a U.S. proposal for a resolution to send multinational forces to Iraq to restore order.
“The United States, which has given us enormous help during the past 50 years, is in difficulty because of Iraq,” Mr. Choe said in a speech to the Korea Society. “We had sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, and we will consider the second dispatch to Iraq under the larger framework of the South Korea-United States alliance.”
He said that President Roh Moo-hyun seemed to be hesitating because the UN Security Council has not decided whether to adopt a resolution. But he said, “President Roh should exercise clear leadership in consideration of the complex relationship between the two allied countries.”
When Mr. Choe met with Mr. Annan at UN headquarters, the secretary-general said he believes the passage of a resolution is a real possibility, said Park Jin, the opposition party spokesman who has been accompanying Mr. Choe on his visit to the United States.
Meanwhile, the South Korean government yesterday appointed Brigadier General Kang Dae-young to lead a 13-member fact-finding delegation to Iraq to determine whether it should comply with the U.S. troop request.

by Nam Jeong-ho