U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Thomas Hubbard stated Wednesday that all members of the U.S. military command in Seoul should be moved to Pyeongtaek and Osan, 60 kilometers south of the capital.

The ambassador's comments come in the wake of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recent visit to South Korea, during which he confirmed the Pentagon's plan to reposition most U.S. military bases in the country to south of Seoul by 2006.

South Korean officials said that Washington's plan to relocate its military units away from the border with North Korea would not weaken security on the Korean peninsula.

In a radio interview with a local station, Hubbard dismissed a recent U.S. media report that the American military would reassign some of its 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan for post-war rehabilitation efforts, noting that no discussions were underway on reducing his nation's military presence on the Korean Peninsula.

Hubbard's comments on the matter reflected those of Secretary Rumsfeld, who had also said during his trip to Seoul that there were no plans to divert U.S. troops or units from South Korea to Iraq.