"The two sides agreed to relocate Yongsan garrison as soon as possible," the statement said.

Two days of talks led by Richard Lawless, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and South Korea's assistant defense minister for policy, Cha Young-Koo, concluded earlier Wednesday.

No decision was taken during the talks on the contentious US proposal to withdraw US forces from the front lines with communist North Korea, officials said at a press conference.

The United States deploys 37,000 troops in South Korea, nearly 15,000 of them with the 2nd Infantry Division north of Seoul near the border with the Stalinist North.

"Both sides agreed to continue discussions on the timing of the overall alignment, including the 2nd Infantry Decision," the statement added.

Lawless told the press conference that the proposal for a withdrawal of the 2nd Infantry Divison had not been discussed in detail.

Cha said the two days of talks on how to revise the 50-year-old US-South Korean military alliance had been "free and frank."

"I am satisfied with the results of our discussion yesterday and today," he said.

Regular meetings on the military alignment will take place during the rest of the year with the next talks scheduled for the United States in May.

The statement said the authorities were aware of concerns expressed in South Korea about the proposed withdrawal of US troops from the border area with North Korea, technically still at war with the South.

The talks are taking place following massive anti-US protests last year and calls from South Korea President Roh Moo-Hyun for a more balanced bilateral relationship.

However, indications that Washington may reduce its troop presence or withdraw forces from the border have alarmed the South Korean government.

On Tuesday South Korean Defence Minister Cho Young-Kil said he opposed any US proposal to pull back its forces while a nuclear crisis continued on the Korean peninsula.

South Korea considers the deployment of US bases near the border with North Korea as a "tripwire" that would trigger automatic US involvement in any new conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

The relocation of Yongsan, however, will be popular among South Koreans. The base consumes a vast tract of valuable real estate in central Seoul and pressure has been building for years for the US military to vacate.

It should hapen "as fast as possible," Lawless added.

SPACE.WIRE