Rumsfeld renews call on N Korea

US troop movements topped the talks in Seoul

The United States and South Korea have renewed their call for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme.

After talks in Seoul, the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and his South Korean counterpart expressed "grave concern" at the nuclear threat.

Mr Rumsfeld also reaffirmed plans to pull back US forces from front line positions in South Korea.

But he stressed the US would not weaken its commitment to defend its ally.

Mr Rumsfeld and Cho Young-kil said in a statement that they "shared a grave concern that North Korea's self-acknowledged nuclear weapons program threatens regional and global security and violates North Korea's commitments to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula".

Washington and its allies in the region hope to call a new round of diplomatic talks on the crisis later this year, following six-party negotiations in Beijing which ended inconclusively in August.

US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who is visiting Tokyo for talks on the North's nuclear programme, said on Monday that Washington hoped talks could be held in mid-December.

The moves for a fresh diplomatic push come as Pyongyang shows signs of softening its position. On Sunday, North Korea reiterated it was willing to scrap its nuclear programme if the US dropped its "hostile policy".

North Korea has said it wants reassurance that Washington will not attack it, and has said it will consider US President George W Bush's offer of a written security guarantee to that effect.

Troop movements

Despite the continued threat from Pyongyang, Washington and Seoul have agreed to the phased withdrawal of US troops stationed close to the North-South Korean border.

MAIN US BASES IN SOUTH KOREA

But Mr Rumsfeld and Mr Cho failed to agree on a date for the removal south of the US 2nd Infantry Division, or whether some troops will remain in Seoul when the 8th Army moves it headquarters out of the capital as part of the force relocation.

The South Korean Government is concerned about the dangers of a premature withdrawal. But their forward position puts them in range of North Korean artillery, and US officials have said that pulling troops back would strengthen the military's hand.

The two defence ministers also discussed Seoul's commitment of troops for Iraq.

Mr Rumsfeld expressed appreciation for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's decision to send additional troops to Iraq.

Seoul announced last week it would limit their number to 3,000, despite US calls for more.

Public opinion in South Korea is deeply split on the issue and protesters opposed to the war in Iraq, as well as the US presence in South Korea, took to the streets as Mr Rumsfeld arrived in Seoul.