South Korea to pull 650 troops from Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-30 20:23 SEOUL, South Korea - South
Korea will withdraw about 650 troops from Iraq by mid-September under a plan to
cut its troop level there by a third, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.
The reduction, which will be made as part of a troop rotation, will bring the
total number of South Korean soldiers withdrawn this year to nearly 900, a JCS
official said on condition of anonymity citing policy.
South Korea plans to withdraw about 1,000 of its 3,200-member contingent
stationed in northern Iraq by the end of the year. The reduction began in May.
South Korea deployed nearly 3,600 troops in the northern Iraq city of Irbil
in 2004, making it the second-largest U.S. coalition partner after
Britain.
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