US Asks Seoul to Send Troops to Afghanistan

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Saturday said that U.S. President Barak Obama called on South Korea to deploy troops to war-ravaged Afghanistan during their summit earlier this week, adding his country can consider sending peace-keeping troops.

Lee's remarks came at a meeting earlier in the day in which he briefed the country's political leaders on the outcome of the summit talks, Yonhap reported, citing Park Sun-young, spokeswoman of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party.

"Dispatching combat troops may be impossible, but we can consider sending peace-keeping forces to Afghanistan," Lee was quoted as saying.

South Korea withdrew its 200-strong team of medics and engineers from Afghanistan in 2007, ending several years of deployment under the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

The close-door meeting was attended by the leader of the ruling Grand National Party, Park Hee-tae, and the head of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party, Rep. Lee Hoi-chang. Chung Sey-kyun, head of the opposition Democratic Party, declined to attend in protest over prosecutors' investigation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, demanding Lee's apology.