South Korea and the United States will start formal discussions next week on a U.S. proposal to slash its troop level on the Korean Peninsula.
The talks will take place on June 7-8 in Seoul on the sidelines of a regular military alliance forum, known as the Future of Alliance Policy Initiative Talks, which the two countries have convened since last year.
Kim Sook, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's North American affairs bureau, said the two countries agreed to begin discussions on realigning U.S. Forces in South Korea, including its size.
Kim said the Seoul government has formed a three-member inter-agency team for troop reduction negotiations that includes himself, an official from the presidential National Security Council and another from the Defense Ministry.
The U.S. delegation will be led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless, who will be arriving in Seoul on Sunday for the military talks.
Washington proposed in June last year to pull about 12,000 troops, or about one-third of the 37,000-strong military presence, out of South Korea. However, formal discussions on the proposal have been deferred so far at South Korea's request.
South Korean officials say they expect the U.S. to propose a similar level of cuts in the number of troops at next week's talks, as suggested last year.