The United States has requested South Korea to send combat troops to Iraq that can operate independently without the help of other forces, a South Korean government senior official said on Monday.

The demand was delivered by Richard Lawless, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia and the Pacific, who visited Seoul early September to attend the South Korean-US military talks, a senior government official, who asked for annoymity, said at a news conference.

Lawless did not mention how many troops the United States hopes South Korea to dispatch, but he gave some examples such as Polish military forces there, said the official who is responsible for foreign policy.

Some 9,000 troops under the command of Poland were given the responsibility in a vast land between Baghdad in the north and Basra in the south, on Sept. 3 when the Fist Marine Expeditionary Force handed over the authority to the Polish Multi-National Division at the Camp Babylon Amphetheatre in al-Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad.

Poland has become the third occupying authority after the US forces in the area around Baghdad and the British military in the southern major city of Basra.

US hopes that South Korea dispatches light infantry troops which has independent command and supporting troops, the official said.

The South Korean government has not made decision on the matter, said the official, adding "Final decision will be made on consideration of domestic opinion and international situation."

Moreover, Wi Sung-lac, director general of the Foreign Ministry's North American affairs bureau, said South Korea is one of about10 countries from which the United States has asked for troops.

In May, South Korea dispatched about 675 army engineers and medics to assist the US-led rehabilitation of post-war Iraq. Sending troops to Iraq is a very politically charged issue here as many criticized the United States for starting the Iraqi war without UN authorization.

Currently, the Untied States is reportedly stationing a 130,000-strong force in Iraq, backed up by 21,000 troops from 21 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency  September 15, 2003)