U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the United States will push ahead with its plan to withdraw one-third of its troops stationed in South Korea by the end of next year as originally scheduled.

Rumsfeld made the comment at a Senate hearing on Friday.

Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul had denied a news report that South Korea and the United States had agreed to partially delay the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea at their recent bilateral military talks.

A local daily, Joongang Ilbo, said Thursday that of the planned 12,500 U.S. troops that are to withdraw from South Korea, 10-thousand would leave gradually by 2005 with the remaining 2,500 to be pulled out after 2006.

An embassy official said no such agreement existed regarding an adjusted scope and timetable for the planned U.S. troop withdrawal.

The official said South Korea and the United States will continue their discussions on the U.S. troop cutback at their annual Security Consultative Meeting in Washington next month.