Afghanistan's rebel militant group Taliban has warned South Korean government of 'bad consequences' if it dispatches its defense force to take part in the fight against insurgents in the war-torn country.
South Korea had about 200 soldiers as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan but withdrew them in December 2007 after Taliban fighters killed two of the 21 Korean Christian missionaries they kidnapped.
In a statement emailed to media Wednesday, Taliban reminded that "Seoul had promised to pull out its soldiers from Afghanistan and that it will never try to send any forces in future" in return for the release of the remaining 19 hostages in August.
"If they send their forces to Afghanistan and break their promise, then they should also be prepared for bad consequences," the statement said, adding that the Taliban "will never resort to a soft approach anymore."
Taliban's warning comes in response to South Korea announcing Tuesday that it will send 350 troops to Afghanistan next year to protect South Korean civilian engineers working on reconstruction. The government made it clear that the troops will not be involved in any combat except providing protection to the aid team.
Helicopters, armored vehicles and a pilot-less reconnaissance drone will act as back-up in providing security to 100 civilian engineers and 40 policemen.
The Cabinet decision to send the South Korean contingent, to be based in Parwan province just north of Kabul for 30 months from July next year, is subject to parliament's approval.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.