SEOUL, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- South Korea says it will expand its civilian-led presence in Afghanistan and follow up later with other contributions to the battle against Taliban militants.
Deputy South Korean Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon, returning to Seoul Wednesday after a three-day visit to Afghanistan, told the Yonhap News Agency he discussed specifics of South Korea's future role in meetings with Afghan officials and U.S. military leaders.
Not discussed, he emphasized, was the sensitive issue of whether South Korea should re-dispatch troops to Afghanistan.
"We have neither received any request for the troop dispatch nor discussed it (during my trip)," Lee told reporters. "We talked about specifics on ways to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Expanding our contribution to the Provincial Reconstruction Team will be a focal point to begin with."
