SOUTH KOREA: South Korea holds a farewell ceremony for troops to be dispatched in Lebanon

The South Korean army held a farewell ceremony on Wednesday (July 18) for an army unit to be dispatched to Lebanon as part of a United Nations peace-keeping mission. The 350-member unit called the Dongmyeong ("light from the east") will be stationed in and around the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon and serve as part of the U.N. peacekeeping forces monitoring and securing the cease-fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border. "With our national pride, we will fulfil our duty nicely securing safety. I would appreciate it if you observe our mission and encourage our soldiers. Our duty is to keep the ceasefire situation between Israel and Lebanon according to the item number 1701 of the United Nation's resolution," said Colonel Kim Ung-kun, commander of the unit. Their main task will be guarding the Tyre area -- about 30 kilometres north of the border with Israel -- as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) inspecting for weapons smuggling and hostile activities. "It's an honour to be a member of the first batch of the Dongmyeong Unit. The United Nations asked for this job to 30 some countries. We will accomplish our duty with pride of our country and confidence," said Major Lee Yeun-suk. The unit is a battalion and the members are mostly infantry soldiers, composed of engineers, medics, and communications, transportation and maintenance forces. The soldiers had a month of preliminary training to familiarise them with the local language and customs of Lebanon. A car bomb killed six members of UNIFIL's Spanish battalion in southern Lebanon on June 24. No group claimed responsibility for that attack, but the Spanish government said it suspected it was the work of al Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants. The United Nations force in Lebanon has grown to 13,300 troops and naval personnel from 31 countries under a U.N. Security Council resolution that halted last year's conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. The UNIFIL troops operate alongside some 15,000 Lebanese soldiers who deployed in the south after the July-August war. The South Korean unit is due to arrive in Lebanon on Thursday (July 19).

ITN Source | July 19, 2007

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