The ministry said in a statement it would cut military forces from 690,000 to 650,000 by 2008. Cuts already affected 9,000 troops last year.

"The troop realignment is part of efforts to restructure the forces into a technology-oriented future military," the statement said.

It said skill levels would be raised and more high-tech equipment would be introduced.

South Korea is still technically at war with communist North Korea, which boasts the world's fifth-largest military force of 1.1 million. The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The South Korean forces work alongside some 32,500 US troops stationed in South Korea to deter the North. The American force is to be scaled down to 25,000 by 2008.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.