Following Brief Detention of 7 South Koreans by Iraqi Militia


By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter
The government has virtually banned all travel to Iraq by its citizens after armed insurgents there detained seven South Korean missionaries amid deteriorating security situation.

All of the South Koreans were later released but the nine-hour detention caught the nation off guard as it is poised to dispatch additional troops to the war-torn nation.

The Korean missionaries were released unharmed Thursday after they pretended to be doctors and nurses and even offered captors massages, officials said.

The government decided to post a higher-level travel restriction, judging the insecurity in Iraq will continue for the time being.

``This means a virtual prevention of travel to Iraq,’’ Chong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Tai-young said, emerging from a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss the Iraqi situation.

The Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry designated Iraq as a ``special country’’ in accordance with the Passport Act, a term which refers to a nation that is too dangerous to visit.

Under the system, any person attempting to visit the nation in question is obliged to get the permission from the government after submitting details regarding visit purpose and intended activities.

A ministry official said South Korean national is requested to report to the ministry when traveling to Iraq.

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Seoul would press ahead with its military dispatch as planned, despite mounting insecurity.

``The government has no additional comments to make other than our existing position, which we have repeatedly expressed,’’ he said during a news conference.

The detention of seven South Koreans triggered a new wave of dispute among supporters and opponents, making the troops dispatch emerge as a hot issue in the lead up to the April 15 general elections.

A military survey team on Friday left for Iraq to examine two potential sites in northern Iraq for the South Korea’s 3,600-member contingent’s mission.

South Korea is planning to send some 3,000 additional troops to the nation, making Seoul the third biggest coalition partner after the Untied States and Britain.

About 460 South Korean military medics and engineers have been operating in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah for a year. They will return home after South Korea sends the new dispatch.

jayshim@koreatimes.co.kr