The United States and South Korea have commenced an 11-day joint military exercise on Monday, as confirmed by defense officials. This exercise will involve intensified field training drills and will primarily focus on countering threats posed by the nuclear-armed North Korea.
The South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed to reporters that the annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise has begun as planned. The exercise, which includes both computer-simulated and field-based training, will continue until March 14. This year’s edition of the exercise features 48 joint field drills, nearly double the number from last year. These drills encompass various activities such as air assault, tactical live-fire, and bombing exercises.
The practice comes as tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain at their highest in years. Pyongyang has undertaken a series of weapons tests this year and has escalated its bellicose rhetoric toward South Korea, describing Seoul as its “principal enemy” last month.
North Korea regularly characterizes the partners’ joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and has used them as an excuse to conduct its own missile launches. Freedom Shield is the first joint exercise since North Korea canceled a 2018 inter-Korean military deal designed to alleviate border tensions, increasing concerns about Pyongyang’s confrontational response.
At a press briefing last week, U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson Col. Isaac Taylor stated that the Freedom Shield exercise has always been performed for training and deterrence objectives.
“Professional militaries train,” Taylor explained. “For years, the United States and the Republic of Korea have worked together to ensure security and stability on the peninsula. If you look back in time, the practice was defensive in nature.”
In addition to the US and South Korean military, personnel from 11 other United Nations Command member countries will participate in the exercise. The USFK announced that Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Colombia, France, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand will all participate in various capacities.
The United Nations Command, led by the United States, is critical to sustaining and enforcing the armistice agreement that ended hostilities in the 1950–53 Korean War, with responsibilities that include monitoring DMZ access and communicating with the North Korean military.
Along with Freedom Shield, the United States and South Korean aviation forces conducted a separate joint aviation training exercise Monday at Osan Air Base, some 40 miles south of Seoul.
According to a press release from the South Korean Air Force, some 20 aircraft, including Korean F-15K and US F-16 fighter jets, will participate in drills such as defensive counter-air operations. It will last until Friday and is the first of eight combined air exercises planned for this year.
In response to North Korea’s increasing provocations, the US and South Korea have increased their military cooperation, with expanded drills and the deployment of US assets such as aircraft carriers, a B-52 nuclear bomber, and a nuclear ballistic missile submarine to the Korean Peninsula in recent months.
