Korea OKs Downsized Troop Deployment in Iraq

Korea Overseas Information Service, The Cabinet on Monday (Nov. 21) endorsed a motion to extend the deployment of South Korean troops to Iraq for one more year, downsizing them by one-third.  
 
The government plans to submit the motion to the National Assembly on Wednesday for approval, according to officials at the Office of the Prime Minister.  
 
In a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan at the Government Complex in central Seoul, the Cabinet approved plans to cut one-third of the 3,260-strong Zaytun Unit in stages starting next March.  
 
The Zaytun Unit has been stationed in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on a humanitarian and reconstruction mission since August last year. The unit