US suspends defence exercise with South Korea to keep North in a cool-off mode

The United States and South Korea have suspended upcoming air defence exercises to give diplomatic efforts with North Korea "every opportunity to continue," the U.S. military said on Friday.

The Pentagon said the decision to suspend Exercise Vigilant Ace, which had been scheduled for December, was taken by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and South Korean defence minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, who met in Singapore on Friday.

Vigilant Ace is one of several exercises that have been suspended to encourage dialogue aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.