(Photo: Xinhua)

BANGKOK, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States and South Korea said here on Sunday that they have decided to postpone a planned joint air force drill.

The Combined Flying Training Event exercise, originally scheduled to begin on Monday, would have involved US and South Korean combat aircraft.

Prior to an ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Bangkok which US Defense Secretary Mark Esper will attend on Monday, he confirmed the United States and South Korea have decided to delay the joint air force drill.

The US defense secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley recently met with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo in Seoul to discuss such concerted moves amid efforts on the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula.

Esper and Jeong are joining their counterparts from several other countries in the ADMM-Plus to discuss topics of common interest in Southeast Asia.