The South Korean government on Tuesday announced that it will suspend large-scale annual civil defense drills and independent military exercises.

South Korean Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum said Seoul has “decided to tentatively suspend the government’s Ulchi exercise planned this year,” at a special news conference following the government’s weekly cabinet meeting.

Minister Kim cited “various security situations including recently-established inter-Korean relations and the suspension of the joint ROK-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Guardian military drills staged in August every year” as reasons for the cancellations.

Seoul and Washington last month announcedplans to postpone all planning for the