Roh condemns killing of hostage

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 525

President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday denounced Islamic militants' killing of a South Korean hostage in Iraq as a "crime against humanity," and reaffirmed the government's commitment to dispatching additional troops to the war-ravaged country.

Roh pledged to work with other foreign countries in fighting terrorism, as the nation was mourning the death of Kim Sun-il, whose beheaded body was found 41 hours after initial reports on his kidnapping Monday morning.

"We strongly condemn such terrorist acts and we will sternly combat terrorism in cooperation with the international community," Roh said in a brief televised statement. "We should never tolerate terror as a means to an end."

The president delivered the speech in Cheong Wa Dae after his National Security Council discussed follow-up measures early in the morning to secure the safety of Koreans remaining in Iraq and to deal with the killing of the 33-year-old employee of a South Korean firm providing goods to the U.S. military.

With the killing inflaming disputes over the troop dispatch, the president said the government would go ahead with its plan to send 3,000 more soldiers to northern Iraq beginning in August. This would make South Korea the third largest coalition partner after the United States and Britain.

"I have repeatedly stressed that our troop dispatch is not to engage in hostile acts against Iraqis or Arab people. It is to reconstruct and restore Iraq," Roh said.

Roh offered condolences to the bereaved family and apologized to the nation for being unable to prevent the first killing of a South Korean national since the country finalized its plan on the troop deployment last Friday.

The nation is again sharply divided on the troop issue. An increasing number of opponents are pressuring the government to cancel the deployment plan, while supporters are insisting that the South Korean military should still go to Iraq and crack down on the militants.

During a meeting with his secretaries, Roh asked the public not to respond emotionally to the incident, as the "inhumane act" should not be interpreted as representing the general sentiment in Iraq and other Arab countries, presidential spokesman Yoon Tai-young said.

"President Roh said the government should closely review the incident and do its utmost to keep such an incident from recurring," Yoon said.

After gmpany, to leave Iraq by early July.

South Korea will speed up the evacuation efforts as it predicts more instability in the post-war country ahead of the handover of sovereignty to Iraq on June 30, the officials said.

Safety measures for Koreans in the United States and Middle East countries will be stepped up and special warnings will be given to those traveling to these countries.

The Defense Ministry is providing additional plans for anti-terrorism while proceeding with its preparations to deploy troops to Iraq, according to a ministry official.

(shj@heraldm.com)

By Seo Hyun-jin