BANGKOK — Thailand's junta leader, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, said on Friday that an interim government would be set up by August.

"A government will be set up by August, or at the very latest September," Prayuth told senior military officials at a meeting devoted to the 2015 national budget.

Thailand's army took power on May 22 in a bloodless coup after six months of sometimes violent street protests. Prayuth repeated in his address that it would take at least a year until a new general election can take place.

In other developments, Thailand's military government has fully lifted a curfew it imposed nationwide after seizing power last month, saying there is no threat of violence.

The measure, effective immediately, was announced Friday night over all domestic television stations.

The curfew had already been reduced to four hours from seven hours, and had been lifted in several resort areas popular with tourists after complaints from the tourism industry over the financial damage it was causing.

The curfew had remained in effect in the capital, Bangkok, because of its political volatility. Until the May 22 coup, it had been the scene of occasional violence triggered by months of anti-government street demonstrations. Political protests and criticism of the coup have been banned by the junta.