The US and South Korea concluded a major annual combined military exercise Thursday aimed at bolstering their defense capabilities against North Korean military threats.
Freedom Shield, a computer-simulated exercise, came to an end after an 11-day “run in the face of North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats and deepening military cooperation with Russia,” the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea’s military.
This year’s exercise marked the first major joint drill by the allies’ militaries since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
With South Korea deploying some 19,000 troops for this year’s exercise, the two countries staged expanded on-field drills to enhance their interoperability.
It involved drills across the land, sea, air, cyber and space domains, with South Korea’s Strategic Command and the naval Task Fleet Command joining the exercise for the first time.
North Korea blasted the drill as a “dangerous provocative act” and fired several ballistic missiles, believed to be close-range ones, on the first day of the exercise.
Washington and Seoul insist that such drills are defensive in nature, however.
Freedom Shield is one of two major annual exercises by the two armies that train troops based on an “all-out war scenario.” The other exercise — Ulchi Freedom Shield — usually takes place in August.
Source: AA