South Korea's military said Thursday it will postpone the annual large-scale field training set for mid-October to next month, citing the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The Hoguk exercise, initially scheduled to run from Oct. 20-24, will be rescheduled to Nov. 17-21, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The APEC summit will be held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Launched in 1996, the Hoguk exercise is aimed at enhancing the interoperability of the armed forces and strengthening the military's readiness posture. South Korea postponed some field training exercises linked to the large-scale annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise in mid-August to September.