South Korea has pledged US$500,000 to an international trust fund aimed at combating piracy off the coast of Somalia, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.
South Korea's envoy, Moon Ha-yong, announced the financial commitment at a session of the so-called Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last Tuesday, the ministry said.
The trust fund, administered with the United Nations, is set to be used to expand a courthouse and prison in Somalia to prosecute captured pirates.
Seoul's announcement came days after some 16 suspected Somali pirates were presumed to have attacked and boarded a South Korean container vessel in the Indian Ocean. The suspected pirates later fled after failing to seize the ship, according to South Korea's military.
In January, South Korean commandos rescued the entire crew of a hijacked South Korean vessel in a daring raid that killed eight pirates and captured five others. The five captured pirates are scheduled to stand South Korea's first piracy trial next month.