The parliament's defense committee on Tuesday approved a bill to more than halve the number of troops stationed in Iraq and extend their deployment by another year.
The bill, passed by a vote of 15 to one, specifies that the government should draw up a timetable for the eventual withdrawal of the Zaytun Division from Iraq sometime next year, lawmakers said.
"The government position is that we will withdraw the troops by the end of next year," Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo said in a hearing before the vote took place. "I think it is desirable to pull them out when their mission is completed there."
The bill will soon be presented to a plenary session of the parliament. In the case of a final endorsement, about 1,100 of the contingent are supposed to return home by April next year.
An action plan on a total pullout will likely be mapped out by June next year, so the rest will be brought back by the end of December 2007. About 2,300 troops currently operate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.
"I think it is possible to draw up a withdrawal timetable plan in the first half of next year," Kim told lawmakers.
The Zaytun Division, whose name means "olive" in Arabic, has been deployed to help reconstruction efforts in Iraq since 2004.
South Korea initially deployed about 3,300 troops in Irbil at the request of the U.S. government, which is spearheading a war against terrorists.
Its deployment mandate is set to expire at the end of December.
The country is sharply divided over whether or not to keep its contingent there beyond this deadline.
Seoul, Dec. 12 (Yonhap News)
Parliamentary committee OKs extended troop stay in Iraq |
