S. Korea, US begin key springtime military exercise
South Korea and the United States kicked off a major annual joint military exercise Monday to strengthen their combined defense capabilities against North Korean military threats.
The allies began the Freedom Shield exercise, which runs through March 20, in the face of North Korea's continued weapons development and deepening military cooperation with Russia.
This year's exercise marks their first major military exercise since US President Donald Trump took office in January, with the US military having reaffirmed its security commitment to South Korea.
"The ironclad commitment to the ROK is as strong as ever. We are fully in Freedom Shield 2025. What we are doing right now is building our readiness, capabilities to defend the ROK against any threat," Col. Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the US Forces Korea, said in a press briefing last week.
ROK refers to the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
The 11-day drills feature computer-simulated drills and on-field training, aimed at strengthening interoperability between the allies.
South Korea will deploy some 19,000 troops for the exercise, with the two sides planning to stage 16 large-scale on-field drills, up from 10 last year, according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But live-fire drills will not take place as part of this year's springtime drills, as the allies have agreed to pause such training until further notice after South Korean fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian village Thursday.
Two KF-16 fighter jets "abnormally" dropped eight bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills last week. The accident left 15 civilians and 14 service members injured.
North Korea has long denounced the allies' joint exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion against it and has a track record of staging weapons tests in response.
The North has released back-to-back statements denouncing the joint drills, threatening that Seoul and Washington will pay a "horrible" price for their "dangerous provocative act."
Freedom Shield is one of the allies' two major annual exercises that train troops based on an all-out war scenario. The other exercise -- Ulchi Freedom Shield -- usually takes place in August. (Yonhap)
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