( CNN ) -- South Korea and the United States postponed joint anti-submarine military exercises due to an approaching tropical storm , U.S . Forces Korea said . The exercises were scheduled to begin Sunday and run through Thursday , the forces said in a statement . Tropical Storm Malou is forecast to arrive in the region Monday . Military officials said the exercise could have gone ahead despite the weather , but safety concerns prompted the postponement . `` Although the alliance is capable of operating in all weather conditions , this decision was made in the interest of safety for the participants , '' the U.S. military said in its statement . `` Both high winds and heavy seas would have directly impacted the exercise area and the training objectives . '' The exercises will be rescheduled but a new date has not been set , the statement said . U.S. officials have said the naval exercises off the western coast of the Korean peninsula are in response to North Korea 's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship last March . `` We said that we would continue a series of exercises that are defensive in nature , that are designed to send a clear message to North Korea , '' Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said in August . Tensions between North Korea and South Korea , as well as between North Korea and the U.S. , have escalated since a May report from Seoul , South Korea , blamed the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March . The report , whose findings have been endorsed by the U.S. , alleged that a North Korean sub sank the Cheonan warship with a torpedo , killing 46 sailors . North Korea denies it sunk the ship and has sharply criticized the military exercises , describing them as war games conducted under a false pretext . `` The U.S. forces side would be seriously mistaken if it calculates it can browbeat [ North Korea ] through large-scale war exercises , '' the state-run KCNA news agency said in July . `` It should immediately stop the [ anti-North Korean ] nuclear war racket . '' `` [ This ] double-dealing attitude is a dangerous one of driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to a war phase , '' KCNA said .
An approaching tropical storm prompts the two countries to hold off on military training . North Korea had blasted the planned exercises as war games conducted under a false pretext . South Korea accuses North Korea of sinking one of its ships this morning .