Progressive South Korean civic groups held a rally near the U.S. embassy in Seoul Saturday calling for drastic cuts in spending to maintain American troops in Korea and a halt to efforts to ink a Seoul-Tokyo military agreement.

Members of the anti-war people's movement for peace coalition made up of various groups said cutting expenditure to keep troops in the country can improve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

They said that while Seoul should take the lead in reducing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula it has actually moved to build up its military might, which has strained the country's fiscal health.

"Such developments should not be allowed to continue," the protestors said.

They added that along with Tokyo's plot to rearm itself there are moves to forge closer ties between South Korea and Japan on the military front that cannot be accepted.

South Korean still holds a deep grudge against Japan for the brutal colonization of the country in first half of the 20th century.

They then said instead of strengthening military ties between South Korea, the United States and Japan, the countries should strive to iron out a peace treaty to replace the temporary Armistice Agreement reached at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap News)