Seoul: South Korea's Cabinet on Monday formalised a proposal to withdraw one-third of the country's troops from Iraq, but extend the overall employment by 12 months, the Defence Ministry said.
On Friday, the ministry announced it planned to bring back 1,000 troops from Iraq.
About 3,200 South Korean troops are positioned in northern Iraq to help rehabilitate the country.
The announcement came as a blow to US President George W. Bush who earlier had met with the South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and thanked him for his contribution of forces.
The Pentagon officials expressed surprise, saying South Korea had not notified them of any plan to change their troop presence in Iraq.
The National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said that South Korea had assured Bush that it would only reduce troop levels after significant progress had been made in Iraq.
In a meeting, presided over by the Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, the Cabinet formed a formal proposal to reduce the number of South Korean troops in Iraq, and to extend the deployment by one year, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry declined to offer further specifics, but South Korea's Yonhap news agency said that the troops will be withdrawn in the first half of 2006.
It was unclear when the Parliament would act on the proposal.
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