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South Korea has chosen a hilly area in southern Lebanon to set up a camp for its troops soon to be dispatched on a mission to help restore peace and security in the conflict-ridden Middle East country, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

"We have received a formal letter from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that it has completed consultations with the Lebanese government on the site for South Korean troops to be stationed," the ministry said.

A contingent of 350 South Korean soldiers, mostly combatants, will be sent to Dibban, a hilly area 3 kilometers east of Tyre, Lebanon's fourth-largest city, it added. Tyre is a coastal city about 80 km south of the country's capital, Beirut.

No date has been fixed yet for their dispatch, although defense sources expect the South Korean soldiers to arrive in Lebanon as early as June.

The ministry said it will send a team of senior defense officials to Lebanon next week to prepare for the dispatch.

"The preparation team will visit Lebanon from April 8 to 12 to look around the site and discuss the mission and operation area of South Korean troops with the UNIFIL Command," a ministry official said.

The eight-member team will be led by Brig. Gen. Lee Yang-goo, who is in charge of the operational affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added.

Seoul's troop dispatch plan follows a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for 15,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces to monitor and secure the cease-fire in Lebanon after last year's conflict.
Seoul, April 6 (Yonhap News)