General Leon J. LaPorte, commander of U.S. Forces Korea(USFK), will extend his tour of duty for one more year.

U.S. military officials said Wednesday that Gen. LaPorte had recently accepted the request by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to extend his stay in South Korea. The USFK chief, who assumed the post in May 2002, was initially set to leave the country early next year.

LaPorte was quoted as saying that he was honored to be asked to serve longer in South Korea, which he called a strong ally of Washington.