US, South Korea start joint military exercise, postpone some drills
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise began in South Korea on Monday and will run through August 28. It is the first joint military exercise since President Lee Jae-myung took office in June.
The South Korean military says the drills are being conducted on the same scale as usual. It says the two forces aim to strengthen preparedness against nuclear, missile, drone and other types of attacks as North Korea deepens its military ties with Russia.
About half of the roughly 40 field training exercises have been postponed until next month. South Korean military officials say the decision followed a comprehensive assessment of the extreme heat, the need to maintain defense readiness and other factors.
Multiple South Korean media outlets have reported that the postponement may reflect consideration for North Korea, as the Lee administration seeks to resume dialogue.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official of the Workers' Party, mentioned the postponement in a statement last week. She indicated that Pyongyang refuses to hold dialogue with Seoul.
North Korea strongly opposes the joint exercises and has emphasized it will not hesitate to take countermeasures.
The US and South Korean militaries are stepping up vigilance and surveillance over the North's moves.
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Japan Today
19 minutes ago
- Japan Today
S Korean, U.S. militaries begin annual summertime drills to cope with N Korean threats
South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield or UFS, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The banners read "Stop the military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) By KIM TONG-HYUNG South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to 'any provocation' against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program. In a statement last week, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of 'military confrontation' with the North and declared that its forces would be ready to counteract 'any provocation going beyond the boundary line.' Ulchi Freedom Shield comes at a pivotal moment for South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who is preparing for an Aug. 25 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump has raised concerns in Seoul that he may shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the American troop presence in South Korea and possibly reducing it as Washington shifts its focus more toward China. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high as North Korea has brushed aside Lee's calls to resume diplomacy with its war-divided rival, with relations having soured in recent years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerated his weapons program and deepened alignment with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'What's needed now is the courage to steadily take steps toward easing tensions, grounded in a firmly maintained state of ironclad security readiness,' Lee said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday. South Korea also on Monday began a four-day civil defense drill involving thousands of public workers, often scheduled alongside the allies' summertime military exercises. Seoul's previous conservative government responded to North Korean threats by expanding military exercises with the United States and seeking stronger U.S. assurances for nuclear deterrence, drawing an angry reaction from Kim, who last year renounced long-term reconciliation goals and rewrote the North's constitution to label the South a permanent enemy. In his latest message to Pyongyang on Friday, Lee, who took office in June, said he would seek to restore a 2018-inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce border tensions and called for North Korea to respond to the South's efforts to rebuild trust and revive talks. The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between the Koreas, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes. But South Korea suspended the deal in 2024, citing tensions over North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons toward the South, and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea had already declared it would no longer abide by the agreement. When asked whether the Lee government's steps to restore the agreement would affect the allies' drills, the South's Defense Ministry said Monday that there are no immediate plans to suspend live-fire training near the Koreas' disputed western maritime border. While the allies have postponed half of Ulchi Freedom Shield's originally planned 44 field training programs to September, U.S. military officials denied South Korean media speculation that the scaled-back drills were meant to make room for diplomacy with the North, citing heat concerns and flood damage to some training fields. Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Public comments by senior Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have suggested a push to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and role of U.S. forces in South Korea. Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while U.S. forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. In a recent meeting with reporters, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, stressed the need to 'modernize' the alliance to address the evolving security environment, including North Korea's nuclear ambitions, its deepening alignment with Russia, and what he called Chinese threats to a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. 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NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
US, South Korea start joint military exercise, postpone some drills
The United States and South Korea have started their regular joint military exercise aimed at preparing for a contingency on the Korean Peninsula. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise began in South Korea on Monday and will run through August 28. It is the first joint military exercise since President Lee Jae-myung took office in June. The South Korean military says the drills are being conducted on the same scale as usual. It says the two forces aim to strengthen preparedness against nuclear, missile, drone and other types of attacks as North Korea deepens its military ties with Russia. About half of the roughly 40 field training exercises have been postponed until next month. South Korean military officials say the decision followed a comprehensive assessment of the extreme heat, the need to maintain defense readiness and other factors. Multiple South Korean media outlets have reported that the postponement may reflect consideration for North Korea, as the Lee administration seeks to resume dialogue. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official of the Workers' Party, mentioned the postponement in a statement last week. She indicated that Pyongyang refuses to hold dialogue with Seoul. North Korea strongly opposes the joint exercises and has emphasized it will not hesitate to take countermeasures. The US and South Korean militaries are stepping up vigilance and surveillance over the North's moves.
Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Nikkei Asia
US-South Korea drills, Lee visits Japan, Taiwan nuclear power vote
Welcome to Your Week in Asia. Fresh off calling for a "redefining" of ties with Japan in an independence day speech, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung heads to Tokyo for talks as the two countries wrestle with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Also in Japan, relations between Asia and Africa will be in focus during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Japan is expected to announce an investment push in the continent in tandem with countries such as India. Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, where our handle is @NikkeiAsia. We are also now on Bluesky, with the handle @ MONDAY U.S.-South Korea military drills The U.S. and South Korea will hold their annual military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield. About 18,000 South Korean soldiers will take part in the live-fire exercises amid North Korea's warnings of reprisals for what it says is a "direct military provocation." Data: Thailand gross domestic product TUESDAY Data: Malaysia trade WEDNESDAY Africa conference in Japan TICAD, an international conference focusing on African development, will be held in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, for three days until Friday. The ninth edition of the event features over 200 seminars and symposiums, as well as approximately 300 booths and panel displays. Thailand electronics trade show The Thailand Electronics Circuit Asia 2025 trade show kicks off in Bangkok. The three-day event will bring together hundreds of companies from across the tech supply chain, with a major focus on printed circuit boards, a key component used in all types of electronic devices. Taiwan robot show The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show opens in Taipei. Exhibitors at the four-day fair will show off the latest advances in smart manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence and more. Earnings: Baidu THURSDAY Data: India purchasing managers index FRIDAY Ruling in Thaksin lese majeste case Thailand's Criminal Court is due to hand down its verdict on former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a lese majeste case. The 75-year-old Thaksin is accused of insulting the monarchy during an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo in May 2015. South Korea's opposition People Power Party elects new leader Data: Malaysia consumer price index Earnings: China Vanke SATURDAY Lee visits Japan for summit South Korea's President Lee will make his first overseas trip for a bilateral summit when he travels to Tokyo to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. While the neighboring nations are historical rivals and Lee has a track record of criticizing Japan, both are export-led economies seeking solutions to the steep tariffs imposed by America. After his Japan trip, Lee will head to Washington for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Taiwan nuclear power referendum Taiwan holds a referendum on whether to restart its Maanshan nuclear power plant, the shutdown of which marked the end of the island's atomic energy era in May. The opposition Taiwan People's Party pushed for the vote on the grounds that reactivation is necessary for energy stability and security. President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party has said he will vote "no." The referendum coincides with a handful of districts voting in recall elections against opposition Kuomintang lawmakers, after a larger first set of recall attempts all failed.
