A military fact-finding team has returned home from Iraq. During their ten-day trip to the Persian Gulf nation, team members collected information on two prospective sites in northern Iraq for the planned deployment of South Korean troops.

Upon their arrival early Monday morning, the delegation told reporters that the cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya in Iraq's northern Kurdish regions were found to be far safer than other regions. The team also said that the regions have much demand for outside assistance with reconstruction and that the people of the two cities have expressed their support for the dispatch of South Korean troops.

The fact-finding team also met with American military officials in Baghdad to discuss whether the U.S. would provide logistics support for the South Korean troops.

The Defense Ministry is expected to make a decision within this week on the final dispatch location for the three-thousand strong Zaitun unit.