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Hospital Director Col Lee Hae Seol, left, talks with patients at Zaytun Hospital. Official Department of Defense photo. IRBIL -- When shared, sorrow is halved and happiness is doubled. So say the troops of the Republic of Korea’s Zaytun Division, which began civil military operations in Irbil in September 2004. At Camp Zaytun, not far from the Irbil International Airport, 2,200 Korean service members perform a variety of medical services, vocational training and reconstruction projects to better the lives of Irbil province residents and support economic development. “You are an example of what is possible for all of Iraq,” Maj....

Blow to US as S Korea makes Iraq troops cut By Anna Fifield and Caroline Daniel in Busan, South Korea Published: November 19 2005 02:00 | Last updated: November 19 2005 02:00 South Korea yesterday revealed plans to withdraw about a third of its 3,200 troops from Iraq, an embarrassing diplomatic blow to President George W. Bush only a day after he thanked Roh Moo-hyun, his South Korean counterpart, for helping "democracy flourish" in the Middle East. As the two leaders attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in the South Korean port city of Busan, the South's defence ministry confirmed...

Iraq Insurgents in First Attack on Korean Troops Korea's Zaytun Division in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil took cover late Sunday evening when four shells presumably fired by insurgents landed near the unit's base compound, the first direct attack on Korean troops since they were deployed to the area last September. There were no casualties among Korean soldiers or civilians, but the division's activity is likely to be curtailed for some time. "At around 11:00 p.m., there were blasts and flames as two shells landed in wheat fields 500 m south of the Zaytun Division base walls, and two...

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said on Friday that intelligence on Islamic insurgents' plan to carry out car bomb attacks on South Korean soldiers in Iraq is highly reliable. "The intelligence is highly trustworthy as we recently obtainedit from the Kurdish autonomous government," Yoon was quoted by South Korean national Yonhap News Agency. Yoon's remarks came after the Office of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in the previous day that it had receivedsecret information that an Islamic insurgents' group, believed to be from the Sunni faction, is preparing a car bomb...