Militaries of South Korea and the US said Friday that they will conduct Operation Freedom Shield (FS) — their largest joint military drill in years — later this month, despite the North’s threats of unprecedented military action.
Operation Freedom Shield
In a joint press conference, representatives of both militaries said they will hold FS, a computer-simulated command post training, from 13-23 March.
Military officials say the joint drill aims to strengthen their defence and response postures. They added that the training would focus on countering North Korea’s aggression, lessons learned from recent conflicts, and dealing with the changing security environment.
“The Korea-US alliance will prepare for the FS training while maintaining a firm readiness against potential provocations by the North Korean military,” Colonel Lee Sung Jun, a spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told the media.
The #US and #SouthKorea staged a tabletop exercise that aimed to counter the possibility of #NorthKorea using a nuclear weapon. Learn more:https://t.co/zBl9iKDxPG#DSCTTX #KimJongUn #ICBM #Pyongyang #KingsBay #Georgia #Pentagon
— Statecraft (@statecraftdaily) February 25, 2023
He added that Seoul and Washington will respond to any provocations from Pyongyang with “an overwhelming capability.”
As part of FS, the allies will also conduct around 20 combined large-scale joint field training sessions, called Warrior Shield FTX. Colonel Isaac Taylor, a spokesperson for the US military, said that such tasks will enhance the forces’ operational execution capabilities. Taylor noted that the field training will also include a combined amphibious drill.
“The Warrior Shield FTX stands for the ROK-US alliance’s capability and resolution to ensure a combined defense posture to defend the ROK,” Taylor said, referring to the abbreviation of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
North Korea’s Threat
Last month, North Korea warned that the two countries will face “unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions” if they go ahead with the exercise, as the North regards it as “preparations for an aggression war.”
It has expressed discontent around such activities on many occasions in the past and carried out over 7 missile launches in 2022 alone.