SEOUL, May 11 (UPI) -- South Korea plans to dispatch a new survey team to Iraq, further delaying its planned deployment of thousands of troops there, officials said Tuesday.
The survey team will travel to Iraq to determine the best location for the deployment of some 3,600 troops, which will make the country the biggest U.S.-led coalition contributor after Britain.
South Korea has "virtually" decided to station its troops in the northern Kurdish town of Irbil, said Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-yeon, a ministry spokesman. "We are strongly considering Irbil as a deployment site," he said at a daily press briefing.
Earlier this week the ministry received a letter from Kurdish leaders in Irbil saying they welcome South Korea's troop deployment and want to hold talks with South Korean officials to work out the details, Nam said.
"But we will officially announce the deployment based on the survey team's findings and consultations with the United States," he said. Another defense official said the actual deployment may take place as early as August.