The U.S. military command in Seoul has announced that South Korea and the United States will hold an annual joint military exercise later this month.

In a statement Thursday, the U.S. command said the two countries will conduct the Ulchi Focus Lens exercise from August 23rd to September 3rd in a bid to strengthen their war deterrence against North Korea.

The statement said the drill comprises mostly computer-simulated war games and will involve a number of U.S. military units in South Korea, a small number of U.S. forces outside of the country, as well as South Korean troops. But the statement stopped short of mentioning the number of troops taking part in the exercise.

The joint exercise was first held in 1976. Pyongyang regularly condemns the annual drill as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.