S Korean MPs approve Iraq force

President Roh Moo-hyun agreed to send more troops in December

South Korea's parliament has approved the dispatch of more than 3,000 troops to Iraq, making it the third biggest force after the US and Britain.

The vote endorses a decision made by President Roh Moo-hyun in December.

The deployment will involve a mixture of combat and non-combat troops, and will be in addition to 465 Korean military medics already in Iraq.

The issue has been controversial with a series of demonstrations in Seoul against the decision.

But President Roh has pushed for the deployment, arguing it was needed to show the country's commitment to its close alliance with the US.

The US has around 37,000 troops in South Korea under a mutual defence pact to deter the North from attacking.

The BBC correspondent in Seoul said there was a view among diplomats that South Korea had little choice but to send extra troops, given its dependence on the United States.

A total of 155 legislators voted for the bill, with 50 against and seven abstaining.

"We thank the National Assembly for passing the bill from the perspective of national interests," a spokesman for President Roh said.

There were scuffles outside the National Assembly when about 600 protestors tried to break through a barricade of police buses.

They were chanting anti-US slogans and calling on legislators not to approve the dispatch of troops.

"We do not want to see our sons and Iraqi people bleeding for the re-election of US President George W Bush," leading activist Oh Jong-ryul said in a statement.

Kirkuk

The additional troops will be responsible for security and reconstruction around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The earlier mission of several hundred army engineers and medics is operating in the southern city of Nasiriya.

South Korea officials say the troops are likely to be dispatched in April.

The new deployment will bring the total number of South Korean troops in Iraq to around 3,600.