South Korea-US to Hold Joint Drills Beginning March 4th for 11 Days

US and South Korean military authorities announced that they will conduct the “Freedom Shield (FS) Exercise” from the 4th to the 14th of next month.

As North Korea is expected to provoke ahead of the South Korean general elections in April, the US and South Korea are expected to showcase their overwhelming deterrence power.

Col. Lee Seong Joon, head of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff’s (JCS) public affairs bureau, and Col. Isaac Taylor, Director of Public Affairs of South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, UN Command, and US Forces Korea, announced in a joint briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on the 28th, “South Korea and the US have decided to conduct the FS exercise for 11 days from March 4th to the 14th to establish a combined defense posture.”

They emphasized, “This exercise will focus on realistic execution of multi-domain operations using land, sea, air, cyber, and space assets, and neutralizing North Korean nuclear threats based on exercise scenarios reflecting changing threats and security situations such as recent war lessons.”

They added, “This will further strengthen our alliance’s response capabilities.”

The US and South Korea plan to expand various joint outdoor maneuvering exercises on land, sea, and air during the exercise period to enhance the interoperability of the alliance and improve the ability to execute joint operations.

Minister of National Defense Shin Won Sik revealed at a conference on the 26th that the outdoor maneuvering training will increase by about twice compared to the FS exercise conducted in March last year.

In addition, member countries of the UN Command will also participate in this exercise. It is explained that the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will verify the exercise execution according to the armistice agreement.

Public Affairs Director Taylor said, “A total of 12 UN member countries will participate in this exercise,” and added, “Australia, Canada, France, the UK, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, Belgium, and Colombia are expected to participate. Of course, the United States will also participate.”