SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of this year, the Korea Herald reported on Saturday.

    "The one-year extension of the Zaytun unit deployment in Iraq passed the National Assembly in December under the condition that the unit will be withdrawn by December this year," South Korean Defense Ministry Spokesman Won Tae-jae was quoted as saying by the daily newspaper.

    "The troops will be pulled out as scheduled," Won added.

    The withdrawal of the Zaytun unit will end its four-year deployment in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. The unit began its service with some 3,600 troops, though that level has now been reduced to some 520, according to the Defense Ministry.

    Zaytun unit's pullout will also lead to the pullout of South Korea's 130-member air support unit in Kuwait, the Korea Herald said.