By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea’s troop deployment to Iraq will likely be further delayed, possibly until August.

A contingent of 3,600 troops will be sent to Irbil, a town in northern Iraq, as soon as Seoul concludes consultations with Iraqi authorities, Defense Ministry officials said on Tuesday. Seoul’s discussion team will head for the Iraqi town soon.

``We received an official welcoming letter from Sarkis Aghajan Mamendu, acting deputy premier of the Kurdistan Regional Government there,’’ ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-youn said during a media briefing. ``Irbil has been virtually confirmed as our troop dispatch site.’’

However, the letter contained no concrete comments on important matters, including South Korean soldiers’ use of the main airport in Irbil. Nam said the Kurdish government proposed further discussions on details of the troop deployment.

A military delegation will be sent to Irbil as early as next week to finalize the discussions, according to officials.

``The National Security Council will make a plan when the delegation returns home,’’ Nam said, adding that the government’s official announcement on the dispatch site will be held off until then.

Accordingly, the troop deployment will likely be further delayed until August. Initially, Seoul planned to send troops by May.

Repeated delays, however, are now giving rise to speculation that the government is reconsidering the Iraq deployment because of growing opposition here and the lukewarm attitude of Kurdish leaders.

Seoul is in a difficult position as some nations are pulling their troops out of Iraq and international outrage grows over U.S. soldiers prisoner abuse, a government official said on condition of anonymity. ``The letter from Kurdish government fell short of our expectations.’’

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr