Unionized Seoul subway workers affiliated with the umbrella Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU) will not participate in a two-day general strike calling for a withdrawal of management's job-cutting plan.

The FKTU union said on Thursday that it has decided not to take part in the warning strike after a final round of negotiations with Seoul Metro management fell through the previous day.

In a message to its members, the union announced the cancellation of a planned event marking the start of the strike, urging them to faithfully fulfill their normal duties.

The FKTU said it had failed to narrow differences with a union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, another umbrella group that participated in the negotiation whose affiliate is staging the strike, but that they agreed to respect each other's decision.

Under an earlier labor-management agreement, the morning rush-hour operation of subway Lines One to Eight and parts of Line Nine remained at 100 percent on Thursday, with the actual strike taking place from 9 a.m. Thursday to 6 p.m. Friday.

The Seoul city government and the subway operator forecast operation rates to drop to 82 percent of normal levels during the day and to 87 percent during evening rush hour, but the rates could remain higher with the FKTU abstaining from the collective action.