Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry said South Korean troops currently stationed in the southern Iraqi region of Nasiriyah will move to the northern Kurdish region of Irbil early next month.

The ministry said some 560 troops, including the Seohee engineering unit, will build barracks and guard posts and make other preparations for the impending arrival of the 3,000-strong Zaitun unit to be deployed from Korea.

Seoul is scheduled to dispatch an advance party of 900 troops to Irbil around early August. Their deployment will be followed by the second batch of some one thousand troops in mid- or late August, with the third and last contingent of another one thousand soldiers of the Zaitun unit to be dispatched to the Gulf nation around October.

The ministry also plans to use two 25,000-ton cargo ships to transport supplies and equipment, beginning at the end of this month.

The deployment of 3,600 troops would make South Korea the third largest troop contributor to the U.S.-led coalition force after the United States and Britain.