A group of South Korean officials will leave for Somali waters next week to determine whether the country should dispatch naval forces to help thwart attempts by Somali pirates to abduct South Korean ships, the defense minister said Thursday.
The task force will "determine whether we should dispatch troops and if we do, how many will be dispatched and what their mission will be," Lee Sang-hee said at a parliamentary audit of his ministry by the National Assembly Defence Committee.
The move comes as a number of South Korean commercial ships have fallen prey to pirates off the coast of Somalia in recent years.
Eight South Korean crew members of a South Korean freighter, along with 14 Myanmarese crew members aboard the ship, were released last week, more than a month after their ship was seized by pirates in the area last month.
Lee did not provide any other details on the survey team.
Officials believe a warship in the area could help significantly reduce abduction attempts on South Korean ships as pirates are said to avoid abducting citizens of 21 nations currently maintaining a military presence in the area.
These nations, including the United States and Britain, currently maintain a permanent naval presence in Somali waters, according to the officials.
"Many doubt what we can do with a single ship, but its presence will help secure swift cooperation from other naval forces in the area in case the need arises," a Navy official earlier said.