SEOUL, March 3 (CGTN) -- The United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will launch the new "Dong Maeng" combined exercise on Monday to replace their springtime "Key Resolve and Foal Eagle" joint military drills, announced the U.S. and ROK on Sunday, according to Yonhap.

The Dong Maeng exercise will last nine days until March 12.

"Dong Maeng, which means alliance in English, has been modified from the previously held spring exercises, Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, and will focus on strategic, operational and tactical aspects of general military operations on the Korean Peninsula," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S.-ROK Combined Forces Command said in a joint press release.

The announcement came after an earlier Yonhap report on Sunday that Washington and Seoul have decided to end the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills and launch "adjusted outside maneuver trainings and united command exercises," which aims to "keep alive dialogue" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) while maintaining "military readiness."