South Korean and U.S. military officials will open two-day negotiations Tuesday on a U.S. plan to downsize its troop levels on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's Assistant Defense Minister for Policy Ahn Kwang- chan and U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless will lead their respective delegations to the FOTA talks, scheduled to open Tuesday evening in Washington. The meeting is also a preparation for the upcoming annual South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting. Washington had previously informed Seoul of its plan to cut one-third of its troops in South Korea, or 12,500 military personnel, by the end of 2005. South Korean officials have requested that Washington delay its troop cut for more than one year, citing security concerns over the ongoing nuclear arms standoff with Pyongyang. The two countries have agreed to finalize the U.S. troop cut plan when their defense ministers hold the SCM in October. In August, the United States redeployed some 3,600 U.S. soldiers originally stationed near the inter-Korean border to Iraq. Currently, some 33,900 U.S. troops remain in South Korea.