By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter

President Roh Moo-hyun said Wednesday his government will not change its plan to dispatch troops to Iraq, despite the brutal beheading of a South Korean hostage by Arab terrorists.

``We are not engaging in hostile activities against Iraq and other Arab nations. The troop dispatch is mandatory to help rehabilitate and reconstruct the country,’’ Roh said in a statement televised nationwide, after Kim Sun-il was killed in Iraq.

He adamantly condemned such terrorist act as ``crime against humanity’’ and vowed his administration would join forces with international community to sternly deal with the terrorism.

``I am very sorry this tragedy took place because the people and the government all wished for the safe return of Kim Sun-il,’’ he said.

The government has decided to evacuate all nonessential South Korean civilians by early June at the latest following the killing of Kim by militants in Iraq.

The National Security Council came to the decision in an emergency meeting early Wednesday morning together with related Cabinet members and officials from the ruling Uri Party.

``All Korean civilians will be asked to come home or leave for nearby countries to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,’’ an NSC official said.

He said currently a total of 65 South Koreans including 22 businesspeople are staying in Iraq.

Uri Party spokesman Im Jong-seok said there will be no change in the principle for sending the troops to the Middle Eastern nation.

In Baghdad, South Korean Ambassador Lim Hong-jae asked South Koreans to leave the nation as soon as possible, citing the Islamic militants have threatened to kill them unless the Korean government scraps its plan to dispatch troops.

He also urged the South Korean journalists to follow as the situation there has become too dangerous and disorderly.

In Washington, South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Sung-joo convened an emergency meeting of embassy staffers to discuss measures to protect Koreans in the U.S. following Kim’s death.

jayshim@koreatimes.co.kr