President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday the South Korea-U.S. alliance and future oil market prospects will be key elements in the government's final decision on its impending troop dispatch to Iraq.

Speaking to members of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Roh said the alliance greatly influences South Korea's economic prospects and North Korea policy.

Presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young quoted Roh as saying that Washington has taken a more active posture on the North Korean nuclear problem after Seoul decided to send more troops to Iraq.

South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) decided last month to dispatch more troops to help rebuild Iraq, but postponed a decision on determining the size and nature of the troops to be sent.