The US and South Korea have postponed a joint military exercise, in an effort to help diplomatic efforts aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
Speaking in Thailand on Sunday, Mark Esper, US defence secretary, said Washington and Seoul had decided to delay the joint air force exercise — known as the “Combined Flying Training Event” — that had been scheduled to start on Monday.
The decision came just two days after Mr Esper and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, met their counterparts in Seoul for consultations about shoring up the US-South Korea alliance and efforts to deal with North Korea.