The Republic of Korea's (ROK) defense ministry said Monday that no decision has been made yet over the annual joint military exercise with the United States this summer.

The ministry's spokesperson Boo Seung-chan told an online press briefing that nothing was finalized over how, when and on which scale the annual ROK-U.S. command post exercise would be conducted, saying it would be decided by the authorities on the two sides. 

The combined forces of the ROK and the U.S. annually stage the summertime command post drills around mid-August, which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) denounced as a dress rehearsal for invasion.

The spokesperson said Seoul and Washington were in close consultations over the issue, taking into account the overall situation, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the combined defense posture, the transfer of the wartime operational control, and the support for diplomatic efforts to establish lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK on Sunday night urged the ROK to cancel its regular joint military exercises with the U.S., adding a North-South leader-level summit remains unlikely in the short term.

On July 27, the ROK and the DPRK restored their cross-border communication channels that had been severed for nearly 14 months, raising expectations for a conciliatory mood between the two Koreas.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: The ROK and U.S. soldiers watch from an observation post during a live firing drill between the ROK and the U.S. at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, ROK, April 26, 2017. /AFP)