Washington: The US and South Korea announced that the annual large-scale exercises, which were a ccommon feature of the defence relationship between the two militaries, will end and be re-configured into smaller manoeuvres.

The announcement follows a phone call on Saturday between acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan and South Korean Minister of National Defence Jeong Kyeong-doo, reports CNN. "Following close coordination, both sides decided to conclude the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle series of exercises," a statement from the Defence Department said.