By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

A ceremony was held on Monday to recognize the military unit that will be sent to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk in late April.

The new unit has been nicknamed ``Zayitun,’’ which translates to ``olive’’ in Arabic. After the dispatch, Korea’s military unit will comprise 3,700 combat and non-combat soldiers, several hundreds of which are medics and engineers already stationed in Iraq.

Defense Minister Cho Young-kil and Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of the United States Forces Korea, were top figures among the 1,000 dignitaries attending the ceremony held in Kwangju, Kyonggi Province. Other high-ranking military officials and members of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee also attended.

In a speech, Minister Cho stressed the significance of the country’s troop dispatch, which is the largest since its participation in the Vietnam War. He called on the troops to overcome the hardships of the war-stricken nation and to exert their efforts to boost the status of the South Korean troops.

``The troop dispatch will serve as a catalyst for developing a friendly, cooperative relationship with many Middle Eastern countries and strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance,’’ Cho said.

Abdul Rahman Mustafa, the Kirkuk mayor, visiting Seoul with other municipal leaders at the invitation of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), said in his address that the troop dispatch could be of great help for their war-devastated country. ``The Kirkuk residents will welcome you, as you are coming to give us assistance.’’

The new Korean troops will be deployed in Kirkuk in late April, after going through six weeks of training. An advance team of several hundreds will be sent early in April.

In the meantime, the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff gave the broad outlook of the rules of engagement to be used by the Iraq-bound troops. According to the rules, the Korean troops will be barred from launching preemptive attacks. But, in ``extremely dangerous’’ or ``special combat’’ situations, commanders will have the discretion to override that ban. The Korean troops will be allowed to return fire, but only after verbally warning the attackers and firing warning shots.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr