A third contingent of South Korean military engineers and medics are heading to Iraq to replace non-combat troops currently stationed there.

The contingent, the 660-strong Seohee and Jaema units, will arrive in Iraq in two separate deployments, the first of which will leave for the war-torn nation Wednesday. The 330 troops of that dispatch will be followed by the rest of the contingent, scheduled to depart next Wednesday.

The South Korean troops will help reconstruction efforts and provide medical aid in the southern Iraqi region of Nasiriyah.

South Korea is set to choose between Irbil or Sulaimanyah in the northern Kurdish regions as the location for the dispatch of 3000 additional troops later this month. After the dispatch site has been selected, the soon-to-be deployed contingent of Seohee and Jaema units will move to the area to make preparations for the arrival of the 3000-strong force.

465 non-combat troops, the second South Korean contingent to have been deployed to Iraq, will return home on Thursday and on April 29 after successfully completing their six-month peace-keeping mission in the area.

South Korean military engineers and medics have been serving in Iraq since last April.