S. Korea to send new destroyer to Somali anti-piracy campaign

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea announced Tuesday it will deploy a
4,500-ton destroyer to Somali waters in mid-July to replace one that has operated
there under a U.S.-led multinational anti-piracy campaign since April.

The Dae Jo Yeong will depart on July 16 and is expected to join the Combined Task
Force on Aug. 22, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the
National Assembly.
The Munmu the Great left for the Gulf of Aden in March, and has since convoyed 28
South Korean commercial vessels and conducted six rescue operations, including
one that involved a North Korean ship.
The Dae Jo Yeong belongs to the same class as the Munmu the Great. It was
commissioned in 2003 and can travel at a maximum speed of 29 knots.
The Munmu the Great was deployed mainly to protect South Korean vessels in the
region where approximately 500 such ships ply the route each year. About 150 of
them are vulnerable to pirate attacks because of their low speed, according to
the ministry.
Somalia has not had a functional government since its dictator was overthrown by
warlords in 1991. Poverty has driven a large number of locals to piracy, while
black market sales of weapons run rampant.
Over 710 South Korean soldiers are operating either as peacekeepers under a U.N.
mandate or as part of multinational security campaigns across the world, the
report said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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