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KOICA completes land mine survey in war-affected Vietnamese region

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Vietnamese and Korean representatives join a ceremony to celebrate completion of a survey on detecting unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War in the central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh, Oct. 20. / Courtesy of KOICA
Vietnamese and Korean representatives join a ceremony to celebrate completion of a survey on detecting unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War in the central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh, Oct. 20. / Courtesy of KOICA

By Yi Whan-woo


The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) completed a survey on detecting landmines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance buried in a central Vietnamese region during the Vietnam War.

KOICA, the foreign aid arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced last week the completion of a survey of 10,704 hectares (107.04 square kilometers) of land in Cat Nhon, one of areas in Binh Dinh Province.

Cat Nhon is estimated to contain about 20 percent of the nation's territory with explosive remnants of war (ERW).

The survey took place under the Korea-Vietnam Mine Action Project (KVMAP) aimed at strengthening Vietnam's anti-mine activities and promoting safe livelihoods and development of dangerous regions.

The project has been jointly carried out with the Vietnam National Mine Action Center and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) since 2016.

The project focuses on two central provinces — Binh Dinh and Quang Binh — where a number of fierce battles took place during the Vietnam War.

As of June 2020, the survey was conducted on 16,880 hectares of land, with 5,584 hectares now declared safe to enter.

"KVMAP is valuable as it increases safety for local residents and returns land affected by the consequences of war," Cho Han-deog, KOICA country director in Vietnam, said during a ceremony, Oct. 20, to mark the completion of the survey in Cat Nhon.

He expressed hope that Cat Nhon will be a symbol of socio-economic development and safer livelihoods in Binh Dinh province, as well as peace and prosperity of local communities.

He highlighted the four pillars of KOICA — people, peace, prosperity, and the planet — collectively called the 4Ps.

"We plan to continue discussions with the Vietnamese government to develop a new follow-up project in relation to KVMAP to strengthen its impact and sustainability," Cho said.

KVMAP consists of survey and clearance of ERW, assistance for Vietnamese government, education for bomb- and mine-related risks, capacity building and integrated information management.

It is expected to be completed by 2021.

On its website, the UNDP explained the project is in accordance with several U.N. programs.

They are Socio-Economic Development Plan 2016-2020, the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2017-2021 One Strategic Plan.

The project further supports the Vietnamese government in the implementation of the National Mine Action Program for 2010-2025, known as Program 504, through programmatic and technical support. The Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and Binh Dinh and Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee, all from the Vietnamese side, are co-partners of the project.

Yi Whan-woo yistory@koreatimes.co.kr


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