S. Korea still plans to send naval ship to Somalia

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's plan to send a warship to the Somali
waters to help fight pirates remains unchanged, and a related motion will be
submitted to the National Assembly in the near future, a foreign ministry
official said Wednesday.
He added that foreign and defense ministries agree on the need for the dispatch,
denying media speculation over a possible rift between the two over the matter.
The authorities originally planned to seek parliamentary approval by the end of
this year.
"Cheong Wa Dae (presidential office) instructed all ministries to focus on
getting the budget plan for next year, along with economy-related and reform
bills, passed amid the economic crisis," the official said, asking not to be
named. "We will put forward the motion early next year. Not only the ruling Grand
National Party but also the opposition parties are expected to support it."
He denied media speculation that Seoul's deferred move might be aimed at giving a
"present" to the incoming U.S. government of Barack Obama.
"Sending a naval ship to Somalia is part of a U.N.-led campaign, not spearheaded
by the U.S. alone," he said. "Its foremost goal is to protect our nationals
there. That is why the consular bureau, not the North American bureau (at the
foreign ministry), is in charge of the issue."
He said negotiations for the release of five South Koreans held by a group of
Somali pirates are under way.
He gave no details, citing a possible negative impact to the effort.
A 20,000-ton Japanese freighter, whose crewmen include five South Koreans, was
seized last month near the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
China announced last week it will send destroyers to Somalia, becoming the latest
nation to join the crackdown on piracy.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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