The U.S. and South Korea began their annual summer joint military drills in South Korea on Monday.
Ulchi Freedom Shield, a cooperative military exercise between the two nations, “aims to enhance the combined, joint, all-domain, and interagency operating environment, thereby strengthening the alliance’s response capabilities.” It will involve over 21,000 troops — 18,000 of which are from South Korea — and will focus on defensive maneuvers in case of aggressive military action from North Korea. It goes from Aug. 18 to Aug. 28 and will reportedly focus on fortifying response capabilities in an emergency hostile event on the Korean peninsula.
“UFS25 is a defense-oriented exercise featuring live-fire, constructive, and field training exercises that engage alliance forces and governmental agencies,” said a release attributed to Josephine Pepin-Rust, a U.S. Air Force public affairs specialist. “Key aspects of the training focus on conducting all-domain operations leveraging component assets.”
The release noted that this year’s drills will feature a special component focusing on space military strategies.
“During UFS25, USFK will participate in space-related elements, reflecting modern warfare challenges,” noted the release. “U.S. Space Force Guardians will also integrate space-based capabilities in terrestrial targeteers, logisticians, and cyber capacities.”
The cooperative exercises typically elicit a hostile response from North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, who has steadily disapproved of the drills for years. Kim commented on this year’s military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea, blasting the cooperation as “openly revealing their intention to remain most hostile and confrontational.”
Additionally, Kim warned of making a “radical and swift change” regarding his country’s nuclear arsenal and weapons development programs.
“The security environment around the DPRK is getting more serious day by day, and the prevailing situation requires us to make a radical and swift change in the existing military theory and practice and rapid expansion of nuclearization,” North Korea’s leader reportedly said.
The military exercises, and subsequent comments from Kim, come as South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, expressed efforts to lower geopolitical tensions with North Korea. It also occurs a week before Lee is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 25. Lee mentioned the importance of easing tensions while also maintaining preparedness for military actions in case of an attack by North Korea, reported the Associated Press.
“What’s needed now is the courage to steadily take steps toward easing tensions, grounded in a firmly maintained state of ironclad security readiness,” South Korea’s president said on Monday.