By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea’s decision to send troops to Iraq is part of a Middle East diplomacy effort aimed at fostering strong long-term relationships in the region, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.

``Our fundamental goal is to bring peace to Iraq,’’ Ban said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times. ``We are not going there for our own interests.’’

Ban is scheduled to embark on a one-week tour of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as President Roh Moo-hyun’s envoy this week. Defense Minister Cho Young-kil and other ministers will also visit 12 other countries in the region.

``My main objective is to enhance their understanding and seek support for our troop dispatch there,’’ Ban said.

He said Seoul has been negligent of the region, pointing out that his visit to Jordan will be the first of its kind in 42 years.

Referring to the National Assembly’s approval of the troop dispatch plan last week, Ban said it is time that South Korea played a role commensurate with its international standing. ``(The dispatch decision) is an answer to the calls from the international community and will certainly serve positively for the reconstruction of the war-torn country,’’ the minister said.

As part of Seoul’s Middle East diplomacy, the government plans to set up a branch office of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Kirkuk, where the new troops will be deployed, to monitor rehabilitation projects.

The country’s top foreign policymaker said the troop deployment will certainly boost the South Korea-U.S. alliance, adding that the U.S. is the ``sole ally’’ of South Korea.

Ban declined to comment, however, when asked whether South Korean troops may have to stay in Iraq after their scheduled tour of duty ends at the end of the year.

On the issue of North Korea’s nuclear programs, he said the North should help produce a ``visible and positive outcome’’ in the upcoming six-party nuclear talks, stressing that the momentum for dialogue should not be lost.

``We will make utmost efforts to put some significant results into a joint statement we are trying to issue after the second round of talks,’’ he said.

Ban reaffirmed his earlier remarks that if Pyongyang freezes its nuclear programs as a first step to their eventual scrapping, it could be given corresponding rewards in stages.

``There is no difference of opinion between the U.S., Japan and South Korea. The final goal is a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of all possible nuclear projects of the North.’’

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr