Fifteen Vietnamese personnel will attend a training course in mine clearance in Seoul from November 16-27, the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s defence ministry announced on November 13.

Sappers detecting unexploded ordnances. (Photo for illustration)

The trainees are scheduled to visit military training establishments for sapper and logistics corps as part of the course’s programme.

According to a preliminary survey in 2002, nearly 9,300 communes with 6.6 million hectares of land across Vietnam were contaminated with unexploded ordnances (UXOs), accounting for 21.12 percent of the country’s land area; the central region is the most contaminated.

UXOs claimed 42,135 lives and injured 62,163 others from 1975 to 2000. Vietnam has spent tens of millions of USD every year on UXO disposal and providing support to UXO victims.

Source: VNA