South Korea's defence ministry said on Friday that Seoul and Washington had not had discussions about the withdrawal of some U.S. troops stationed in the country.

The ministry made the comment in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal that said the U.S. was considering pulling out roughly 4,500 troops from South Korea.

One option being considered was to relocate some of the troops to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region including Guam, according to the report, which cited unnamed U.S. military officials.

There are currently 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

South Korea would continue cooperation with the United States to maintain a strong combined defence posture in order to deter North Korea, its defence ministry said in a statement.

South Korean media later on Friday said U.S. Defense Department chief spokesperson Sean Parnell had denied the report.

The United States was prepared to work with the next government in Seoul on strengthening their alliance, Chosun Ilbo newspaper and Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul and Washington agreed on a five-year plan on defence cost sharing last year but U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled that the cost of the U.S. military presence could be up for discussion in ongoing trade negotiations with Seoul.