A South Korean military delegation left for Washington Tuesday for talks on the United State's plan to relocate US bases in South Korea.

The relocation of the US Yongsan Garrison to a location south of Seoul is a key part of Washington's plan to realign its 37,500 troops in South Korea. Most of the troops are now stationed close to the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The two-day meeting in Washington, scheduled to begin on Thursday, will try to address some remaining issues related to therelocation, including the size of land to be offered to the US side after the realignment, South Korean military officials were quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

The 14-member South Korean delegation is led by Ahn Kwang-chan,assistant defense minister for policy. The US side is to be headedby Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless.

The allies have been at odds over how much land South Korea should provide to reconsolidated US troops, after Washington said last month it would cut its troop level in South Korea by one third.

Seoul proposed offering some 10.89 million square meters of land in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, while Washington requested for 11.88 million-square-meter land.

This week's meeting is the 10th round of the Future of the Alliance forum, which began in 2002 to reshape the half-century bilateral military relationship.

Source: Xinhua