Jabar Ekspres – South Korea and the United States will begin a major joint military exercise next week in a bid to bolster their combined defenses, both sides said on Monday (14/8).
The planned drills come amid threats by North Korea (North Korea) of possible new provocations.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercise based on an all-out war scenario will take place in the period August 21-31.
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The drills will feature various emergency exercises, such as computer simulation-based command post drills, simultaneous field exercises, as well as Ulchi civil defense drills.
Ahead of the drills, Pyongyang has raised tensions with Leader Kim Jong-un recently calling for a “drastic boost” in the country’s missile production capabilities, and for offensive war contingency preparations.
“Ulchi Freedom Shield 23 is designed to be a robust and realistic exercise to strengthen the joint defense posture,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a press release.
“The exercise is also to strengthen the alliance’s response capabilities based on scenarios that reflect the diverse threats in the security environment and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts,” the release further said.
The exercise also includes response drills to cyber attacks and terrorism, they added.
About 30 allied field exercises are scheduled to take place during this year’s UFS, compared to 25 during this year’s spring Freedom Shield exercise and 13 at last year’s UFS, according to a JCS official.
In addition to South Korean and US participants, personnel from UN Command (UNC) member states will also join the exercise.
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The UNC was the main implementer of the armistice that stopped fighting in the Korean War in 1950-53.
The Neutral Nations Supervision Commission (NNSC), which is an observer of the armistice, will also attend the exercise.
