By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea’s additional troop dispatch to Iraq will likely be further delayed, possibly until June.

The National Security Council (NSC) originally planned to finalize the dispatch issue but the meeting was cancelled due to the precarious Iraqi situation, according to officials.

A Defense Ministry official said that the troop dispatch might be made well after June due to difficulties in determining the destination.

``We have tentatively decided to deploy the 3,600 troops in the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraqi town of Irbil at the end of this month,’’ he said. ``But we have yet to receive an official response from the Irbil authorities.’’

A South Korean military team flew to Irbil last month to explain their dispatch plan, including the use of its airport, to its government leaders. But the country has not yet received an official letter of request or any welcoming remarks.

Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon said the Irbil government has welcomed South Korean troops indirectly through the U.S. military authorities. ``But we need a clear statement of agreement from Irbil,’’ he added.

According to experts, Irbil’s leaders are taking a lukewarm stance toward the presence of additional foreign troops for fear that its sovereignty might be hindered. Irbil is also hesitantly planning to hand over its right to operate the town’s airport to a foreign company in order to upgrade the outdated facility.

A growing number of South Koreans are opposed to the troop dispatch plan as the government has repeatedly delayed the selection of deployment site in recent weeks due to changing Iraqi security situations.

To make matters worse, recent reports on the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. and British soldiers have fanned the negative sentiment.

Asked by reporters about the international outrage during his weekly briefing, Minister Ban said there shouldn’t be any abuse of prisoners of war from a humanitarian perspective. But he took a very cautious attitude as the foreign minister, saying ``it would be undesirable to comment on the case since the U.S. authorities are investigating it.’’

He stressed, though he is well aware of the different voices in the society, the troop dispatch should be made since the country promised it as a responsible member of the international community.

The government created the 3,600-strong ``Zayitun’’ unit in March with the original aim of deploying it in a certain Iraqi region by the end of May to help peace and rehabilitation efforts in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr