South Korea is considering withdrawing at least some of its troops protecting aid workers in Afghanistan, government officials said Thursday.

One official said the mission for the unit, called "Ashena," will be over at the end of this year, and other nations are also set to withdraw their forces from the war-ravaged country.

"We're looking into ways to pull out Ashena forces over several phases," the official said.

Another government official said some troops will still be necessary to protect aid workers, who are collectively called the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

"We will make the final call on the withdrawal after a further review of the local situation and other nations' moves," the second official said.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization plans to pull out its International Security Assistance Force based in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

The South Korean PRT was launched in July 2010 and is set to stay in Afghanistan until 2014. About 100 aid workers are based in the northern Afghan city of Charikar and on the U.S. military base at Bagram to provide medical, educational, and other services to local communities. South Korea has also dispatched 350 troops and 40 police officers to protect the team. (Yonhap News)