An international conference opened in Seoul on Monday to discuss the role and future of UN peacekeeping activities.

Representatives from more than 40 nations are attending the two-day meeting co-hosted by South Korea, Canada and Britain, South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

The UN's peacekeeping activities have been expanding since the late 1990s. Currently about 100,000 troops and police, along with 30,000 civilians, are working in conflict-hit areas across the world.

South Korea maintains about 400 troops in eight countries for UN peacekeeping operations, including the 350-strong Dongmyeong unit stationed in Lebanon, the ministry said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2008)