Military officials from South Korea and the United States will convene in Seoul next Monday for the 9th round of the Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative talks.

At the top of the agenda at the two-day talks is the U.S. plan to reduce its troops in South Korea in line with its Global Defense Posture Review program. Also on the docket are details on the relocation of the U.S. military headquarters out of Seoul and the redeployment of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division from the border with North Korea to areas south of the Han River.

A South Korean government official says that the issues will be dealt with in two sub-panels to facilitate discussions. But he was quick to add that given its gravity, the issue of reducing the U.S. military presence in South Korea may be discussed at another meeting completely separate from the future of the alliance initiative talks.

The official did not rule out the possibility that the initiative talks - currently slated for a two-day run - may be extended by one more day, depending on the progress of the negotiations.

Earlier last week, foreign affairs and defense ministry officials of the two countries met for working-level discussions in Washington and coordinated views for the high-level military talks.