The announcement of the decision to withdraw 4,000 of the 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea to meet needs in Iraq has important repercussions in several areas.

First, it comes on the eve of the resumption next month of six-party talks involving North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan to try to meet the problem of North Korea's development and sales of nuclear weapons and the disastrous state of its economy.

Second, although the withdrawal of some 11 percent of the U.S. forces in South Korea does not affect significantly the ability to defend it from attack by North Korea, the reduction will be seen inevitably by South Korea as diminished U.S. commitment to protect it.

Finally, the move, to meet the troop demands of the continuing war in Iraq, is a clear sign of just how thin U.S. forces are stretched across the globe by deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Haiti, the Philippines and elsewhere.

With regard to the six-party talks, the reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea is, in fact, a positive indication to all parties that the United States favors a negotiated settlement of the problems with North Korea, as opposed to continued reliance on the military card. Any solution must involve the neighbors -- China, Russia, Japan and South Korea -- and must be political, as opposed to military in nature. The withdrawal of U.S. forces at this time should underline that point.

With respect to the actual military defense of South Korea, the 37,000 U.S. forces serve largely as a tripwire, a guarantee that the United States will become involved if a new Korean War were to break out. South Korea's own military forces number 700,000. They are well-armed, well-trained and backed by the world's 12th-biggest economy.

If the withdrawal makes the South Koreans nervous, let it serve as a reminder that they are capable of defending themselves. They are no longer the war-broken country of 1950 when the North Koreans came across the border. Neither Russia nor China resembles the implacable enemies they were then. The current prosperous situation of South Korea is tribute to its people's ability to build a strong country quickly.

As for the point that the United States doesn't have enough forces to do everything everywhere, it is useful for the Bush administration to prioritize, rather than pretend that it can deal with the problems of the world by pre-emptive use of military force.

The next step in dealing with North Korea is the upcoming talks involving its neighbors. That is as it should be. Reducing the U.S. troop presence in South Korea is a step in the right direction.