South Korea and the United States will begin a major combined military exercise this week to strengthen their joint defense readiness in the face of evolving North Korean military threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise based on an all-out war scenario is set to take place from Aug. 19-29, featuring the main computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and civil defense drills.
The JCS said the exercise will further strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance’s capability and readiness to respond to any provocations and defend against North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction by conducting multi-domain exercises utilizing a variety of assets, including land, sea, air, cyber and space.
The allies’ exercise comes amid growing concerns over Pyongyang’s continued weapons development push, highlighted by its launches of 37 ballistic missiles this year alone, and heightened cross-border tensions from the North’s recent trash balloon campaign.
https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240818002151315?section=national/defense
