S. Korean relief troops return home after mission in Philippines

South Korean relief troops stationed in the Philippines have returned home after completing their one-year mission to help rebuild the country hit hard by a typhoon last year, the Army said Tuesday.

The 297 service personnel of the Araw Unit returned home on Monday from Tacloban after providing medical services and working to prevent the outbreak of epidemics in the city since December last year that was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan the previous month.

Their initial six-month mission was extended for six months in June.

"The service members of the Araw Unit successfully returned the favor South Korea owes to the Filipinos who have been in despair after losing their loved ones and living spaces due to the typhoon," Army chief Gen. Kim Yo-hwan said in his welcoming remarks during the disbandment ceremony held in Seoul on Tuesday.

The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian nation that participated in the 1950-53 Korean War, dispatching the fourth-largest contingent among the 16 allied nations under a U.N. resolution. Of 7,420 Filipino troops who fought in the conflict, 171 of them were killed or went missing and another 299 were wounded.

Since being dispatched upon the request of the Filipino government, the Araw Unit has restored 70 buildings, including elementary schools and hospitals, and provided medical services to more than 40,000 residents of isolated communities, according to the Army.

The name "Araw" means blessing and hope in the local Tagalog language. (Yonhap)