By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

South Korea is aiming to wrap up talks with the United States on the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul by as early as next month, according to a top Foreign Ministry official.

Kim Sook, director-general in charge of North American affairs at the ministry, on Wednesday rejected suggestions that the U.S. base relocation talks could drag out until next year, after the ninth Future of the Alliance Policy Initiative (FOTA) meeting on the issue ended Tuesday without significant progress.

``Our deadline for concluding all negotiations is the next round of FOTA talks,’’ he told reporters.

No date has been set for the 10th round of discussions, but sources indicated the final FOTA meeting will be held in late July. Special high-level consultations to work through details for the base transfer will begin late this month or early next month.

``We had hoped to achieve a consensus at the most recent talks, but the U.S. presented its troop reduction plan just one day before the talks began,’’ Kim explained. He said Seoul needed to take into account details of Washington’s troop withdrawal plan before signing a deal on the Yongsan relocation.

Members of the U.S. delegation have expressed frustration at the failure to forge an agreement on the relocation, saying that if a decision is not reached before September, there will be problems in obtaining budget funds for the military realignment.

The major sticking point in the negotiations is how much land will be allotted for the new garrison. The U.S. wants 3.6 million pyong (1,190 hectares) of land, while South Korea says it can only provide 3.3 million pyong (1,090 hectares).

The U.S. intends to deliver a detailed plan on the troop cutback in a couple of weeks. It told South Korean officials Sunday that it wanted to withdraw 12,500 personnel by the end of next year.

Speaking at a weekly media briefing, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said the government will seek an agreement on the Yongsan relocation issue after reviewing the U.S. proposal.

``We will hold a special meeting as soon as possible to try to conclude an agreement,’’ Ban said, adding that the meeting will involve a small number of top officials from the FOTA talks.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr