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The United States and South Korea on Monday began their largest combined military drills to bolster a deterrence posture, after years of downsizing their annual drills for diplomatic reasons with North Korea.
The drills known as Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) will last until Sept. 1, and comprise a computer-simulation command post exercise, field training, and civil defense drills, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The two allies aim to stage 13 combined field training programs throughout the UFS, according to the report. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said last month that the drills aim to deter “North Korea’s provocations.”
North Korea fired two cruise missiles from the west coast last week, after South Korea and the United States kicked off preliminary training for the exercises.
The drills were the largest since 2017 after being scaled back because of COVID-19, and the previous Moon Jae-in administration sought to restart denuclearization talks with Pyongyang, which has denounced the drills as a rehearsal for invasion.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, sought a tougher stance on North Korea and a stronger U.S. security commitment to the country’s defense.
“Maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula is built on our airtight security posture,” Yoon told a cabinet meeting on Monday, calling for thorough exercises based on real-world scenarios.
