Japan likely to supply ammunition to South Korean troops in South Sudan

The Japanese government decided Monday to supply ammunition to UN peacekeepers in South Sudan, paving the way for Japan to provide such supplies to other countries' militaries or UN forces for the first time, Kyodo News Agency reported. Japan will provide 10,000 bullets without charge, most likely to South Korean troops taking part in a UN peacekeeping operation in the fledgling African country, the report said, citing officials. Due to urgency and humanitarian needs, the Japanese government has decided to make an exception to its arms embargo under its so-called three principles on arms exports, the officials were quoted as saying. The Japanese law governing peacekeeping operations says the government can provide supplies, with Cabinet approval, as part of its cooperation in UN activities. On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and discussed the situation in South Sudan and the issue of supply of bullets to the roughly 400 UN peacekeepers there, the report added. According to Seoul's Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean government asked for the UN Missions in South Sudan to provide additional ammunition as its troops are mostly composed of engineers and medics. Fears have risen of civil war in the world's newest country as its oil-rich state has been seized by armed rebels. The 280-member South Korean contingency has been operating in the town of Bor, some 170 kilometers north of the capital Juba, since 2012 as part of U.N. missions to support its restoration efforts. "Although there are no hostile acts against the South Korean troops, the unit asked for the UN to support it with additional ammunition to beef up deterrence capabilities in case of contingencies," a senior ministry official told Yonhap. Fighting erupted in Juba on December 15 between South Sudanese soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those supporting former vice president Riek Machar. Armed groups last week assaulted a UN facility in Jonglei, killing at least a dozen people including peacekeepers from India. South Sudan declared its independence in July 2011 from the Arab-dominated North after decades of civil war that claimed 2 million lives.