Japan is seeking to spend more time than earlier planned to assess the situation in South Sudan and other issues before deciding whether to assign its Self-Defense Forces members to new tasks during U.N. peacekeeping operations there, government sources said Tuesday.

As the current SDF deployment period to the U.N. mission in South Sudan will end Oct. 31, the Japanese government is making arrangements to secure Cabinet approvals in two stages — first on the extension of the deployment period by the end of October and second on the assignments of the new tasks in November.

The new assignments are part of the expanded role SDF members have become able to perform under Japan's contentious security legislation, which came into force in March. They include going to the rescue of U.N. staff and others under attack with relaxed criteria on the use of weapons during U.N. peacekeeping activities.