South Korea has launched a military unit scheduled to be dispatched to Iraq.

Defense Minister Cho Young-kil and members of the parliamentary National Defense Committee were on hand at the launching ceremony held at an Army base in Gwangju, south of Seoul.

In a speech, Defense Minister Cho asked the soldiers to do their best in bringing peace to the war-torn country and enhancing the prestige of South Korea's military by wisely overcoming hostile circumstances.

Also on hand at the ceremony were some ten Iraqi officials, including the mayor of Kirkuk, where the South Korean troops will be deployed.

The three-thousand-strong ?Zaitun? unit will undergo a six-week acclimatization training, which includes lectures on Iraq's culture and language.

The contingent, that includes one-thousand-400 combatants, will leave for the northern Iraqi city some time in April.