Officials said Friday the South Korean military will next week hold an official activation ceremony for a unit to be deployed to northern Iraq in late April.

Some 3,600 Korean troops, including military engineers and medics already operating in the war-torn country, are tasked with helping rebuild the oil-rich Iraqi region of Kirkuk.

Col. Ha Du-chul said during a news briefing Friday that Monday's ceremony will see the participation of top military and defense leaders, including Defense Minister Cho Young-kil, members of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee and the 840 soldiers of the unit that is to be dispatched to Kirkuk.

Ha said Kirkuk's provincial governor and his aides will also take part in the ceremony at an army base in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, just outside Seoul.