South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has been seeking to improve strained relations with Pyongyang, ordered on Monday his cabinet to prepare a partial step-by-step implementation of existing agreements with North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged to "respect" North Korea's political system and said Seoul would not seek unilateral reunification in a speech to mark Liberation Day.