U.S. calls on S. Korea to deploy troops to Afghanistan

SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Saturday his
country can consider deploying peace-keeping troops to Afghanistan in response to
a U.S. proposal at summit talks early this week.

Lee said his U.S. counterpart, President Barack Obama, asked him to send troops
to the war-torn country, according to Park Sun-young, spokeswoman of the minor
opposition Liberty Forward Party.
His remarks came at a meeting earlier in the day in which he briefed the
country's political leaders on the outcome of the summit talks held last Tuesday.

The leader of the ruling Grand National Party, Park Hee-tae, and the head of the
minor opposition Liberty Forward Party, Rep. Lee Hoi-chang, were invited to the
meeting.
Lee returned home Thursday after a three-day visit to Washington, where he also
met with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton for discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue.
"Dispatching combat troops may be impossible, but we can consider sending
peace-keeping forces to Afghanistan," he was quoted as saying.
South Korea withdrew its 200-strong team of medics and engineers from Afghanistan
in 2007, ending several years of deployment under the U.S.-led war against
terrorism.
Meanwhile, Lee said both nations can delay the scheduled transfer of wartime
operational control of South Korean troops back to Seoul, but it is impossible to
repeal the plan.
"We have agreed that both alliances can put off the transfer schedule if the
inter-Korean relationship worsens," Lee said.
Washington plans to return wartime operational command of South Korea's troops to
Seoul in 2012. It has been in the hands of the U.S. military in South Korea since
being relinquished at the onset of the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea's recent missile and nuclear tests have bolstered the voices of
people who fear the transition will undermine joint deterrence capabilities
against the communist country.
brk@yna.co.kr
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