ID :
197260
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197260
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U.N. chief asks S. Korea to dispatch peacekeeping troops to South Sudan
SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked South Korea to consider sending peacekeeping troops to South Sudan to help reconstruction efforts in the fledgling African nation, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday.
South Sudan officially declared independence on July 9 from the Arab-dominated north after a decades of civil war that claimed 2 million lives. The country became the 193rd member of the United Nations on July 14.
In a meeting with Rep. Won Yoo-chul of the Grand National Party and two legislators held at the U.N. headquarters on Tuesday (Korean time), Ban called their attention to the chronic lack of basic infrastructure in the war-ravaged nation and asked South Korea to assist in their reconstruction efforts.
"The newly independent South Sudan has recently asked (the U.N.) to send for engineering soldiers or non-combat forces for medical support. I hope (South Korean) political circles take this matter into consideration," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying by Won.
Seoul "needs to be active on international issues, especially humanitarian matters," Ban said.
Won, chair of the parliamentary committee on national defense, promised to positively consider Ban's request and consult with the Seoul government to take the matter to the National Assembly for legal procedures, his office said.
South Korea has dispatched 635 soldiers for eight peacekeeping missions, including those to Haiti and Lebanon, while 818 others have been sent for multilateral operations, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
South Sudan officially declared independence on July 9 from the Arab-dominated north after a decades of civil war that claimed 2 million lives. The country became the 193rd member of the United Nations on July 14.
In a meeting with Rep. Won Yoo-chul of the Grand National Party and two legislators held at the U.N. headquarters on Tuesday (Korean time), Ban called their attention to the chronic lack of basic infrastructure in the war-ravaged nation and asked South Korea to assist in their reconstruction efforts.
"The newly independent South Sudan has recently asked (the U.N.) to send for engineering soldiers or non-combat forces for medical support. I hope (South Korean) political circles take this matter into consideration," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying by Won.
Seoul "needs to be active on international issues, especially humanitarian matters," Ban said.
Won, chair of the parliamentary committee on national defense, promised to positively consider Ban's request and consult with the Seoul government to take the matter to the National Assembly for legal procedures, his office said.
South Korea has dispatched 635 soldiers for eight peacekeeping missions, including those to Haiti and Lebanon, while 818 others have been sent for multilateral operations, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
