The United States and South Korea have agreed to delay joint military exercises until after the Winter Olympics next month, the government in Seoul announced Thursday, in an apparent move to de-escalate tensions with Pyongyang. The move came just hours after US President Donald Trump said that high-level talks set for next week between North and South Korea were "a good thing." North Korea has rattled the international community in recent months with multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test - purportedly of a hydrogen bomb.

"The two leaders agreed that the US-South Korea joint military exercises will not be carried out during the Olympics period, and the armed forces of the two countries should do their best to guarantee the safety of the Olympics," said a statement from the office of South Korean President Moon Jae-In. Trump and Moon made the decision during a phone conversation Thursday, Seoul said. The statement quoted Moon as telling Trump that delaying the exercises would help ensure the success of the Winter Olympics - being hosted by the South next month in Pyeongchang - "in case the North does not make any more provocations."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018