hankyoreh

The South Korean government is not considering withdrawing its troops stationed in Iraq or further scaling back its presence there, even as U.S.-led coalition forces such as Japan, Italy, and Poland have declared their intention to remove their troops. The decision by several countries to exit Iraq follows the June 22 formation of the first permanent government in the war-torn country.

“Our situation is very different than that of other nations, such as Japan, which announced a troop withdrawal,” said a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Defense on June 22. The official said his government has no plan to withdraw forces or further scale down troop presence beyond what has already been planned. An official at the presidential office also said no further troop withdrawal is planned.

A moderate scaledown was already in place as of late April, when the defense ministry begun cutting the number of troops in Iraq, bringing home some 200 soldiers so far. By the end of this year, South Korea plans to withdraw about 1,000 of its 3,200 troops stationed there.

On June 20, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced that Japan would pull out all of its forces, stationed in Samawah in southern Iraq, by next month. Italy said it will cut its troops in Iraq by 1,100 this month and withdraw the remaining 1,600 soldiers by the end of this year. In addition, Poland, which in March reduced its presence to 900 from 1,500, is also expected to withdraw remaining soldiers by year-end.

According to a report by Britain’s Sunday Times on June 21, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a major U.S. ally, ordered his aides to draft a withdrawal timeframe aimed at total removal by fall next year. Other U.S.-led coalition forces such as Spain, the Netherlands, and the Philippines already pulled their troops out of Iraq between 2004 and 2005.

However, the South Korean government appears to frown upon any discussion of troop withdrawal, due to fears of friction within the South Korea-U.S. alliance. “Because the troop dispatch to Iraq is seen as a symbol of the Korea-U.S. alliance, it would be difficult for the military to raise the issue,” said another official at the defense ministry. “So, a public debate on the troop withdrawal should be suggested in political circles, such as the National Assembly.”

Calls for such a review have intensified following the establishment of an Iraqi government May 22.

Rep. Choi Jae-cheon of the ruling Uri Party said in an article posted on his web site, “It is time to operate a program for a withdrawal of our Zaytun contingent, rather than only a reduction of the troops, in line with U.N. Security Council decrees.”

Lee Tae-ho, an official at the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, asked Seoul to consider Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s May 22 statement that his government will handle most security issues. South Korea is the only U.S.-led coalition force that has seen no discussion of its status by the Iraqi government or National Assembly, Mr. Lee said.

On June 24, some 3,000 activists from 351 civic movement groups will hold a rally in downtown Seoul, calling on the government to withdraw all troops from Iraq.