"The US Forces in Korea explained at a recent briefing on its troop realignment that its troop cut and consolidation of its 2nd Infantry Division would be completed between 2005 and 2007," YTN television news said.

The United States had initially planned to withdraw by next year 12,500 of some 37,000 US troops who have been stationed in South Korea since the end of the 1950-1953 war with the communist North.

US and South Korean military negotiators last month failed to agree on the timetable. Seoul wants to delay it from 2005 to 2006 or preferably 2008.

The YTN report followed a visit last week by US chief negotiator, Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless, to South Korea before an annual defense chiefs' meeting in Washington in October.

South Korean defense officials remained cautious. "There has been no clear-cut message from the US side about rescheduling the timetable," a defense ministry spokesman said.

President George W. Bush announced last month that up to 70,000 US troops would eventually leave Europe and Asia in a move related to the "war on terror" and to meeting new threats.

The US realignment has sparked security fears among some South Koreans as Seoul is only 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone that divides the North and South.

Washington has insisted any withdrawal will not weaken its deterrent against North Korea, citing the deployment of advanced military equipment.

At military alliance talks, US and South Korean authorities agreed to relocate US military headquarters from Seoul to Pyongtaek, 80 kilometers south of the capital, by 2008.