[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E115-E116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       APPRECIATING SOUTH KOREA'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE WAR IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2006

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, three years ago it was my 
privilege to lead a bipartisan delegation of my colleagues to the 
Korean Peninsula. At the time, we had a rare opportunity to visit 
Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, as well as Seoul, the capital of 
South Korea, which I have had the pleasure of visiting on more than one 
occasion. During that trip, we gained a greater understanding and 
appreciation of the security challenges we face in Northeast Asia and 
the particular challenges faced by the Republic of Korea. Our 
delegation made a return trip to North Korea in January 2005.
  With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
seldom noted fact that our close friend and staunch ally, the Republic 
of Korea, has contributed the largest contingent

[[Page E116]]

of military personnel in Iraq, after the United States and the United 
Kingdom. South Korea has currently deployed 3,300 troops to Iraq, 
performing important functions in the northern part of the country, 
freeing up U.S. forces for operations elsewhere.
  The South Korean government, through legislation passed by its 
National Assembly in December 2005, extended the time period of 
deployment of their troops for another year, despite political 
pressures to withdraw altogether. The extension of the stationing of 
troops is an expression of South Korea's deep and abiding support for 
the U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq and establish a permanent peace there. 
By its actions, South Korea demonstrates its firm commitment to a rapid 
reconstruction of Iraq and to establishing stability as soon as 
possible.
  Mr. Speaker, South Korean troops have been stationed in Iraq since 
they were first dispatched in August 2004. Named the Zaytun Division, 
derived from the Arabic term for ``olive'' and symbolizing peace, the 
unit has been actively involved in rehabilitating civilian 
infrastructure facilities for local residents and the Kurdistan 
Regional Government (KRG).
  The South Korean National Assembly announced that there will be a 
gradual reduction of the Zaytun troops by one-third to 2,300 over the 
course of the coming year. It will be a phased reduction in close 
consultation with the U.S. and dependent on the Iraqi police force's 
readiness and the situation on the ground. It is important to note, 
however, that while there will be a gradual reduction in presence, the 
role of Zaytun will be enhanced.
  In fact, the South Korean troops will soon provide security service 
for the Irbil Regional Office of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq 
(UNAMI), protecting UNAMI's middle ring and its convoys. Additionally, 
the USAID office will now be stationed within the Zaytun compound and 
protected by South Korean forces.
  Mr. Speaker, I am afraid that our South Korean friends have not been 
thanked loudly or frequently enough for this contribution to the 
stabilization of Iraqi society. It is a genuine shame that the news 
media in the U.S. missed this significant story, which was widely 
reported in the Korean press.
  On January 18, 2006, a letter from Secretary of State Condoleezza 
Rice was delivered to the commander of South Korean forces in Irbil, a 
city in northern Iraq, expressing our country's appreciation for their 
peacekeeping efforts. The letter said, in part, ``The humanitarian and 
reconstruction activities your troops have undertaken have made lasting 
and substantive contributions to the quality of life for the people of 
Irbil.''
  For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my personal 
appreciation to the government and people of South Korea for their 
lasting contribution to the coalition forces in Iraq and for their 
commitment to playing an important and responsible role in the 
international community. As a staunch ally of the United States with a 
mutually comprehensive alliance partnership that has spanned over fifty 
years and four major conflicts since the end of World War II, South 
Korea deserves our recognition and expression of support.

                          ____________________