The defense ministry said Saturday it is looking at plans to provide better protection for South Koreans residing in Iraq's northern Irbil region by recruiting locals there to form a security squad.
Irbil is where South Korea is planning to send an additional contingent of 3,000 troops, namely the Zaitun unit.
An official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff noted most Korean nationals in Irbil will be working for the military and are thus likely to be terrorist targets.
Another plan under consideration, the ministry says, is that of placing Korean civilians' residences on the military compounds of the Zaitun unit.