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S. Korea to give US$500M in aid for Afghan transition
Karzai must think he died and went to Paradise...
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will donate an additional US$500 million to help war-torn Afghanistan prepare to take over battlefield command from NATO-led forces, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced in March the first phase of a transition of security responsibilities from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the country's military and police. The process is set to begin in July for completion in 2014.

South Korea stationed a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in the northern Afghan province of Parwan last year, aiming to strengthen the provincial government's administrative capabilities and offer medical services as well as vocational and police training. It has donated about $180 million toward reconstruction efforts.

South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jae-shin announced the additional aid at an ISAF meeting in Berlin on Thursday (local time), according to the ministry.
Though it's better to piss away give the money to Afghanistan than to buy rice for North Korea...
The increase comes partly in response to international calls for South Korea to raise contributions, a ministry official told reporters earlier on the customary condition of anonymity. The United States has donated some $37 billion while Japan has given more than $3 billion and Canada more than $1.2 billion.
Posted by: Steve White 2011-04-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=320431