YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) U.S. intelligence chief visited S. Korea over Afghan deployment: source

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's intelligence chief visited South Korea earlier this week to discuss Seoul's Afghan troop deployment plans and North Korea's nuclear standoff, a government source said Friday.

   The source, who declined to be identified, said that Dennis Blair, director of National Intelligence, was in Seoul from Sunday through Tuesday and met with senior South Korean officials, including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Defense Minister Kim Tae-young.

   He also met with National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon.

   "I'm aware that the trip was part of a regular Asian regional tour," the official said.

   The official said that Blair explained recent moves by Washington to increase troop levels in the country, and listened to the South Korean deployment timetable.

   South Korea plans to send troops to protect a group of civilians working in the Central Asian country where the U.S. is fighting an insurgency.

   The Seoul government said last week after a weeklong fact-finding mission that it is considering setting up a camp for soldiers and civilian workers in a northern Afghan province.

   The number of troops and security personnel to be deployed to Afghanistan to protect South Korean volunteer workers -- set to increase to 130 -- will remain under 400, according to the government.

   Another government source, asking to be unnamed, said that talks regarding Seoul's troop deployment "weren't deep," considering the routine nature of the visit.

   Blair is responsible for overseeing 16 intelligence organizations in the United States such as the Central Intelligence Agency.

   yonngong@yna.co.kr
odissy@yna.co.kr
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