(LEAD) Park delivers pep talk to S. Korean troops in South Sudan

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments by Park)
By Kim Kwang-tae

ADDIS ABABA, May 27 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye met with more than a dozen South Korean troops on Friday to boost their morale on the third day of her state visit to Ethiopia.

The commander-in-chief asked 15 soldiers to make utmost efforts to help rebuild South Sudan as she thanked them for their service at a meeting at a hotel in Addis Ababa.

The soldiers, including seven officers, are members of the 293-strong South Korean contingent in South Sudan on a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

The "Hanbit" unit has set up a 17-kilometer-long barrier wall to prevent flooding near the town of Bor, some 170 kilometers north of the capital Juba. The troops also repaired a key highway, cutting the travel time to six hours from up to 72 hours.

South Korea first stationed the rotational troops in South Sudan in March 2013 as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission and has replaced them every eight months to assist the newly independent country's recovery from a destructive civil war.

South Sudan declared its independence in July 2011 from its Arab-dominated northern neighbor Sudan after decades of civil war that claimed about 2 million lives. Tensions between the two Sudans still remain over border security and oil production.

Last year, Park also met with about 200 South Korean soldiers aboard the Dae Jo Yeong, a 4,400-ton South Korean destroyer, anchored at Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi.

The South Korean troops have been operating near Somali waters since early 2009 as part of international efforts to help protect ships passing through the Gulf of Aden, also used by some 500 South Korean vessels annually. Some of the 200 troops are charged with training UAE special forces and conducting joint military drills.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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