Status: 08/16/2022 1:36 p.m
The largest US and South Korean military exercise in years is scheduled to begin in a week. Both countries want to use it to strengthen their defense capabilities – also because North Korea has already carried out several missile tests this year.
The armed forces of South Korea and the USA want to hold the largest joint military maneuvers in five years. The annual summer exercise is scheduled to begin next Monday and last until September 1, the Defense Ministry said in Seoul. The US has deployed 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent to a North Korean threat.
Under the name “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, training is to be combined with computer simulations, field exercises and a large civil defense exercise. Fighter jets, warships, tanks and possibly tens of thousands of soldiers are involved. However, the South Korean Ministry of Defense did not provide any information on the number of soldiers taking part. The defense against drone attacks and the protection of industrial plants should also be practiced.
Biggest maneuver since 2017
It would be the largest exercise since 2017, a Defense Department spokesman said. A multi-day crisis management training course has already begun.
North Korea is expected to react sharply to the upcoming maneuvers in Seoul. The leadership there regularly accuses the US of maneuvering with South Korea to prepare for an attack. The governments in Washington and Seoul deny this and emphasize that the exercises should improve defense capabilities.
Several missile tests
Tensions in the region have escalated again this year following a series of tests by North Korea of nuclear-capable missiles. In May, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden agreed to expand joint maneuvers. In recent years, both countries have reduced the scope of several exercises or canceled them entirely for diplomatic reasons.
When the US canceled the summer exercises in South Korea in 2018, it wanted to create greater opportunities for negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. However, since the failed summit between ex-US President Donald Trump and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February 2019, these have not made any progress.