Speaking at a joint press conference, officials downplayed concerns that South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae Myung is looking to scale back this year’s drills in an effort to open a door for dialogue with their northern neighbours.

South Korea and the United States will launch their annual large-scale military exercise this month to bolster readiness against North Korean threats, the allies said Thursday, in a move likely to irritate Pyongyang amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.