U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday that some of the 37,000 American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula could be withdrawn, despite the current nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.

In a joint news conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers, the secretary said he remained steadfast in his view that some troops should be brought home, while those remaining in South Korea should be re-deployed to rear areas, in the face of the growing threat from Pyongyang's nuclear capability.

Rumsfeld also advocated a more mobile and high-tech force on the peninsula.

He pointed out to reporters that capability and effectiveness, not sheer numbers, were the final measures of a fighting force, as demonstrated by the victory achieved by the United States military in Iraq.