Text Fwd: S. Korean warship on standby after Western attack on Libya

Yonhap News
S. Korean warship on standby after Western attack on Libya
March 20, 2011

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean destroyer was on standby on Sunday off the coast of Egypt to help in the evacuations of South Korean nationals from Libya, after Western countries launched military action against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces, Seoul's foreign and defense ministries said.

The 4,500-ton Choi Young destroyer decided not to enter the Suez Canal to head back to the Gulf of Aden where it operates as part of a multinational anti-piracy campaign, ministry officials said.

The warship had transported 32 South Koreans from Tripoli to Malta in the Mediterranean Sea on March 3 before carrying out another evacuation mission for five Koreans from Libya to a Greek island on March 14.

The decision to place the ship on standby for another possible rescue operation comes as Seoul has begun to review various options to withdraw its remaining 118 nationals, including 70 in the capital Tripoli, from the turmoil-battered North African nation.

The U.S., Britain and France on Saturday launched missile attacks on positions on Libya's coast controlled by Gadhafi's forces, after the United Nations authorized military actions against the Libyan ruler.

"The government is currently assessing the situations in Libya through close consultations with the Korean embassy in Libya," said the official on condition of anonymity.

"Phased evacuation plans for the remaining South Koreans in Libya have already been in place. All of them will be pulled out of Libya if necessary," the official said, adding the primary targets of the multinational forces' attacks are military facilities.

He noted that a network of emergency contacts for all South Korean nationals in Libya has already been established and they were notified of assembly locations for evacuations.

The official said that the first phase of evacuations will take place over land routes, as it takes about four hours to drive from Tripoli to Libya's border.

"The dispatch of the Choi Young is just intended to help protect South Korean nationals in Libya. It is not directly related to the Western countries' military action against Gadhafi's forces," a defense official said.