Officials announced on Monday that next week’s joint exercises between the United States and South Korea will focus on improving the allies’ combined ability to defend against the growing threat of North Korea, especially as North Korea continues to advance its development of nuclear weapons.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. military and South Korean military officials explained that the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which is currently scheduled to take place from August 19 to August 29, will feature computer-simulated exercises intended to increase the two country’s preparations for defending against missiles, cyberattacks, and GPS jamming. The training will also involve live-fire exercises and concurrent field maneuvers, according to The Associated Press.
Military officials told reporters that the goal of the upcoming training is to “further strengthen (their) capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction.”
The Associated Press reported that Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that roughly 19,000 South Korean troops will participate in the upcoming training exercises. The South Korean spokesperson added that the exercises are an “essential element for maintaining a strong defense posture to protect the Republic of Korea.”
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While Ryan Donald, a U.S Forces Korea spokesperson, did not confirm the number of U.S. military members participating in next week’s exercises or whether the drills will include U.S. strategic assets, The Associated Press reported that the United States has increased the deployment of aircraft carrier strike groups, submarines, and long-range bombers in the region over the past few months to deter North Korean aggression by increasing training with Japan and South Korea.
“This exercise will reflect realistic threats across all domains such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s missile threats and we will take in lessons learned from recent armed conflicts,” Donald told reporters.
The U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson added, “ROK and U.S. units will execute combined field training exercises across all domains. Field maneuver and live fire exercises will strengthen the alliance’s interoperability while showcasing our combined capabilities and resolve,” he said.
According to The Associated Press, next week’s joint military drills could be met with an adversarial response from North Korea since North Korea views the exercises as invasion rehearsals and consistently uses the cooperation between the United States and South Korea as a reason for continuing to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
