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Margrette Scobey, the US Ambassador to Syria, leaves the Syrian Foreign Ministry in Damascus, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2004, after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa. Scobey, who was called home by her government Tuesday, delivered a message from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Sharaa, dealing with the situations in Lebanon, Iraq and the Middle East peace process. The Bush Administration recalled Scobey back to Washington amid tensions over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in a massive car bombing in Beirut on Monday. (AP Photo/str ).

Shiite followers, some beating their backs with chains as a symbol of grief, flock to the Imam Hussein holy shrine in Karbala, Iraq Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 in the lead-up to the day of Ashoura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram which started last Thursday. Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, was beheaded in Karbala in 680 AD in a battle over the line of succession to the Prophet Mohammed, and the event is celebrated by Shiites today as the festival of Ashoura. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

A private security guard stands in front of a monument built at the site of a mass grave in which victims of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime were burried. Four private security guards said their former employer, Custer Battles, allowed heavily armed guards to roam Iraq brutalizing civilians, while they were supposed to be guarding supply convoys from rebels(AFP/File/Saeed Khan)

Locals look on at a burning pipeline after saboteurs attacked the oil pipeline in northern Iraq near Beerat village in al-Fatha district, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of the city of Beiji in Iraq Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005. (AP Photo/Bassem Daham)

Iraqis walk past the remains of a car bomb after it exploded against a U.S. military convoy in the northern city of Mosul, February 16, 2005. With insurgents still carrying out daily car bombings and other attacks, and kidnappings common, U.S. and other troops are expected to remain for months if not years to come and have dismissed the idea of setting a timetable to withdraw. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

There is no evidence to support the claim that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei, pictured, said in an interview published by The Washington Post(AFP/File/Eric Feferberg)

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi (R) and German counterpart Joschka Fischer address the media in Berlin, February 16, 2005. Kharrazi said on Wednesday he had no information on reports of a powerful explosion near Iran's southern port city of Dailam. The reports moved financial markets, underscoring world jitters over growing tensions over U.S. charges that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

South Korean soldiers are seen here in 2004. The United States has proposed a joint military exercise with South Korea that would involve special forces, military officials said(AFP/File)

US proposes joint training of special forces with South Korea

SEOUL (AFP) - The United States has proposed a joint military exercise with South Korea that would involve special forces, military officials said.

South Korea's defense ministry said it has yet to accept the proposal for joint training, probably in March.

"Our side has yet to send a response to the US side," a ministry official said. "If we agree, that will be part of our usual joint drills."

The joint drills have been staged by the allies annually to deter communist North Korea.

The United States has stationed troops in South Korea since the 1950-1953 war ended in a fragile armistice.

The number of US troops dropped from 37,500 to 32,500 last year as part of Washington's global military realignment and consolidation.

A further 5,000 troops are scheduled to quit South Korea in 2005-2006 and another 2,500 by 2008.

The realignment sparked security jitters in South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North.