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South Korea and the United States plan to kick off a combined springtime military exercise later this month, the allies announced Friday, as they are striving to beef up deterrence against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
The Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled to take place from March 13-23 without a break, marking the longest-ever edition of their joint computer-simulation command post exercise, according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US Forces Korea.
It is to proceed concurrently with the new large-scale field training exercise, called "Warrior Shield," in line with the allies' push to reinforce training programs and enhance their "realism."
Prior to the FS, the allies plan to conduct a four-day crisis management exercise.
"Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defense and response capabilities of the Alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment, DPRK aggression and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts," USFK spokesperson Col. Isaac L. Taylor told a joint press briefing.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Taylor added that the Warrior Shield stands for the alliance's "capability and resolution" to ensure a combined defense posture to defend the South.
The overall drills focus on practicing steps to deter war and defuse tensions through a joint crisis management mechanism, as well as war execution procedures, according to Seoul officials.
Seoul's defense authorities have said that the allies are set to apply to the FS "realistic" training scenarios related to the North's "high-intensity" nuclear threats, including its hardening of rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.
Pyongyang has warned that Seoul and Washington would face "unprecedentedly" strong counteractions should they press ahead with this year's plans for combined drills, which it has decried as preparations for a war of aggression.
On concerns about the possibility of the North taking provocative acts in response to the drills, JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said that the allies will maintain a "firm" readiness posture. (Yonhap)
