A top U.S. military official reportedly said that South Korea and the U.S. should continue combined military drills to prepare in the event diplomacy on North Korea fails. 

According to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) Joseph Dunford made the remarks on Wednesday during a forum hosted by the Brookings Institution, a private think tank in Washington.  

The JCS chief said that now is the time to pursue a diplomatic approach to North Korea, but that allies should continue their combined military exercises to prepare in the event diplomacy fails. 

He said that there is no change in the positions of allied leadership regarding their combined military drills. He noted that a wide range of different exercises remain an option, even though larger-scale drills were recently replaced by smaller ones.

Dunford reportedly reaffirmed that his role, along with that of the U.S. military's, is to ensure the enforcement of American and international sanctions against North Korea in support of the maximum pressure campaign against Pyongyang.

He added however that he and the military have the same responsibility to support President Trump's diplomatic efforts as well.