North Korea Sees Planned US-South Korea Wargames as ‘Catastrophe’ | Over 20,000 foreign troops to participate in annual exercise
Various annually scheduled US wargames in and around the Korean Peninsula almost always provoke an increase in tension for their duration. The upcoming Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise is particularly ill-timed on that front, coming amid dangerously high tensions already.
The exercise, which begins Monday, will last 10 days, and involve 20,500 foreign troops in a simulated defense of South Korea from an invasion by North Korea. The exercise is the largest annual computerized command-and-control operation in the world. North Korea has termed the decision to hold the exercise a “ catastrophe.”
17,500 US soldiers will participate, along with troops from Australia, New Zealand, multiple NATO member nations, and Colombia.
