S Korea to withdraw reconstruction team from Afghanistan by year's end

South Korea's government has decided to withdraw a civilian Korean provincial reconstruction team and the Oshino unit from Afghanistan by the end of this year. A high-ranking government official said the government will not submit a bill to parliament seeking the extension of the Oshino unit's deployment if the situation in Afghanistan remains unchanged. The South Korean unit's service there is scheduled to end at the end of this year. In a meeting with Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin in Seoul earlier this week, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman expressed his appreciation for the reconstruction work South Korea did in Afghanistan over the past two years. The South Korean government sent a 140-member civilian reconstruction team and the 350-member Oshino unit to Afghanistan in June 2010. The Oshino unit is in charge of oversight and security of reconstruction activities.