S.Korea and U.S. to begin preliminary military exercises on Tuesday -Yonhap

FILE PHOTO: The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. Courtesy Ken Scar/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States will begin preliminary military drills on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, despite North Korea's warning that the exercises would dent signs of an inter-Korean thaw.

The drills, called Crisis Management Staff Training, were designed to examine the allies' readiness to respond to a potential contingency, and will be held until Friday before switching to full-scale exercises scheduled for Aug. 16-26, Yonhap said, citing unidentified military and government sources.