TOKYO, Aug 12 (Saba) -- South Korean troops tasked with guarding the nation's civilian aid workers in Afghanistan plan to officially launch their mission in October, about a month later than originally scheduled, Seoul's media reported Thursday.

The delay comes as the construction of a base in Charikar city of the northern Afghan province of Parwan, where the Korean troops and the workers are to be stationed, was postponed due to "local conditions," said Deputy Defense Minister Chang Kwang-il, according to Yonhap News Agency.

About 230 South Korean troops are currently based at the US air base in Bagram, north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, to protect the civilian workers in the war-torn country. The troops are part of the 320-member Ashena unit, with the remaining 90 soldiers set to join them late this month.

Chang accompanied South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young on a visit to Afghanistan last weekend to boost morale for the Ashena, which means friend or colleague in Parwan's local language. During the visit, Kim held separate meetings with Afghan defense chief Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak and Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

"While the Taliban are stepping up attacks against Western aid workers in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, security conditions in Parwan remain stable," Chang said, noting the South Korean troops are fully ready to protect the reconstruction workers.

Early last month, the Korean provincial reconstruction team officially launched its mission in Parwan with 49 civilian workers and eight police officers, offering medical services and job training as well as helping the Parwan provincial government with its administrative capabilities.

South Korea, a close ally of the US, withdrew its military engineers and medics unit from Afghanistan in 2007 after a group of its church workers were kidnapped by Taliban forces, two of whom were killed.

Saba