The South Korean military has withdrawn plans to establish a new strategic command to counter nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, the country’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed on Tuesday.

Speaking in a regular news briefing, MND spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo said the move was linked to broader efforts to streamline the military’s decision-making processes.

“The establishment of the strategic command had been devised from the perspective of finding effective measures to counter nuclear and WMD (weapon of mass destruction) threats,” Choi explained, responding to a question about whether the decision was linked to warming inter-Korean ties.

The move