The U.S. military has begun operations to transport some 3,600 of its troops in South Korea to Iraq.

A send-off ceremony for the 2nd Brigade of the U.S. Second Infantry Division was held Monday at Camp Casey north of Seoul, with the Commander of U.S. Forces in South Korea, Gen. Leon LaPorte, and other senior military officials attending.

The Iraq-bound forces, which include three infantry battalions and communications and engineering support units, amount to about one-tenth of the 37,500 U.S. troops currently stationed in South Korea.

The 2nd Infantry Division, deployed in bases along the inter-Korean border, is a key combat component of the U.S. troop presence on the Korean peninsula.

No details of the troop transportation were announced, but reports say the soldiers will leave for Iraq in several contingents within a week starting Tuesday. It was also learned that the troops would not return to South Korea after completing what the U.S. military calls "stabilizing operations" in the war-torn Gulf nation.

The United States said earlier this year that it would reduce its military presence in South Korea by one-third of the current level. But it remains unclear whether the move is part of U.S. plans for a sweeping realignment of its global troop deployment.