South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed with NK News that South Korea and the United States started the postponed joint drills on Tuesday, in the format of computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training (CPT).

According to military officials in Seoul, ROK-U.S. joint exercises were originally planned to go ahead on Aug. 16, but were ultimately delayed for two days and downscaled due to "various conditions, such as the COVID-19 situation" — one of the ROK Army participants tested positive for the virus ahead of the drills. South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Kim Jun-rak told reporters on Sunday that the joint drills were postponed "after discussion between the South Korean and U.S. authorities."