S. Korea, U.S. to hold 'Freedom Shield' exercise next month

Defense 14:05 February 17, 2023

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will hold a regular springtime combined military exercise next month under "realistic" scenarios reflecting North Korea's nuclear and other threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.

In a briefing to the National Assembly's defense committee, the ministry said the 11-day Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to proceed without a break, alongside concurrent large-scale field drills, including the Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise. It is to be preceded by a four-day crisis management exercise.

The exercise is aimed at ensuring the allies' joint crisis management capabilities to deter war and defuse any security crisis, and practicing operational command and war execution procedures under a combined defense construct, the ministry said in a press release.

The allies plan to apply "realistic" scenarios reflecting the North's rhetorical threats and potential challenges from its reservist forces based on lessons drawn from the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to the ministry.

In the briefing, the ministry pointed out that there is still a possibility of Pyongyang conducting what would be its seventh nuclear test as the regime focuses on increasing the quantity of its nuclear force and advancing related technologies.

The ministry also raised the possibility that the North would engage in various "tactical and strategic" provocations in order to "drive a wedge between the South and the United States and sow division among South Koreans."