Seoul, Aug 16 (IANS): South Korea and the US have decided to stage their annual summertime combined exercise in an adjusted manner this week, military officials said Sunday, following the postponement of their springtime training due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training (CCPT) will begin on Tuesday and continue until August 28, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as saying in a statement.

It added that the two sides made the decision "after taking into consideration related circumstances, such as the Covid-19 situation comprehensively".

Seoul and Washington had initially planned to kick-start the training on Sunday but postponed it to Tuesday after a South Korean Army officer who was supposed to participate in the exercise tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, according to military officials.

The planned exercise will be smaller in scale compared with previous ones, as American troops required for the program were not able to come to South Korea under coronavirus-related restrictions, they added.

The two sides have usually hold major combined exercises twice a year -- in March and August.