Published : Feb. 14, 2017 - 11:42
Korea's Cheonghae Unit will take part in a counter-piracy military operation led by the European Union for the first time next month, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
The naval unit, currently stationed in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, will partner with EU forces to prevent acts of piracy and armed robbery in the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
Korea's Cheonghae Unit (Yonhap)
The Korean unit's participation in the international counter-piracy operation is in line with the Korea-EU risk management activity pact that took effect in December, it said.
Seoul plans to send a 4,400-ton frigate with some 300 crew members, Lynx helicopters and special operations forces to "Operation Atalanta," which will take place in the sea off the northeastern city of Bosaso in Somalia, according to the ministry.
The EU launched the European Union Naval Force Atalanta in December 2008 with a focus on protecting Somalia-bound vessels and shipments belonging to the World Food Program and the African Union Mission in Somalia, as well as escorting other vulnerable seaborne cargo. (Yonhap)