Kuwait media broadcast that Iraq has started counterattacks by firing missiles toward US troops in northern Kuwait. US officials said at least one of the rockets was intercepted by a Patriot missile. No injuries or damage were reported. There was no immediate evidence the missiles had chemical or biological warheads. But soldiers and people wore gas masks and chemical protective gear after siren was first heard in Kuwait afternoon.

South Korea plans to dispatch troops to Iraq after mid-May

South Korea intends to dispatch troops to Iraq after mid-May, when the war is expected to be over or be drawing to a close. A Defence Ministry report, which was submitted to the parliamentary Committee on National Defence, predicted the Iraqi war could end within five to seven weeks. It added, however, that a prolonged conflict cannot be ruled out if Iraq counterattacks with biological or chemical weapons. The government is considering sending an engineering battalion of 500 to 600 troops as well as a 150-member medical unit.

North Korean construction workers not evacuated from Kuwait

Some 3000 North Korean workers at construction site in Kuwait had not been evacuated as of Thursday as the US launched military action against Iraq. Most of the North Koreans are working at housing and road construction sites in the country on contracts with Kuwait builders and are staying at makeshift facilities near the sites. Officials at the Kuwait builders said they have yet to set up contingency plans to evacuate their foreign workers. The North Korean workers were spotted Wednesday afternoon traveling by truck at a construction site in the Habia region of southern Kuwait. The same day, officials from the North Korean Embassy in Kuwait City were also spotted at Kuwait Airport, apparently going through immigration procedures for North Korean workers.