Cho, speaking before before the defense committee of the National Assembly, said that the decision on whether to send troops should be made by Oct. 25, when an annual meeting on security between Korea and the U.S is scheduled to be held.

Regarding the size of a possible dispatch, Cho said that Washington had officially asked through the Foreign Ministry to send a brigade including the divisional headquarters, citing Poland's as an example. The media has speculated that the size could be 10,000-15,000 troops. But the United States has not officially proposed any number, Cho added.

While Cho said that it was inappropriate to link the dispatch question to the plan to move the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division to south of the Han River, he did acknowledge that when Seoul and Washington get together to practically discuss the dispatch, in a comprehensive context, the two issues would unavoidably be related. (Heo Yong-beom, heo@chosun.com )