Advance team of S. Korean contingent heads to Afghanistan

SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- An advance team of South Korea's 320-member contingent
to Afghanistan headed to the Middle East nation Tuesday to begin its mission of
protecting a South Korean provincial reconstruction team (PRT) there.
The 90-member team is expected to arrive this week at the Bagram air base in the
northern Parwan Province where the South Korean PRT and troops will be stationed,
according to officials from Seoul's defense ministry.
The rest of the contingent, named "Ashena," will depart early next month, they said.
The South Korean contingent was launched last month after parliament approved
government plans to protect the 100-member PRT in Afghanistan, comprised mostly
of civilian engineers and medical workers.
Meaning friend or colleague in the local language used in Parwan, Ashena is set
to operate until the end of 2012.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)

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