South Korea and the United States will commence their annual joint military exercises next week to bolster defense readiness against North Korean threats, military officials announced Monday, following Pyongyang’s recent resumption of prohibited ballistic missile tests.
The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is set to begin next Monday with approximately 18,000 South Korean troops participating, according to South Korean military spokesperson Jang Do-young. The training scale remains consistent with previous years.
At a joint press conference, U.S. military spokesperson Ryan Donald explained that the drills will incorporate real-world scenarios and lessons from ongoing global conflicts to strengthen multi-domain capabilities. He specifically cited North Korea’s recent military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“DPRK soldiers have been deployed and fought in Ukraine and they’ve taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea,” Donald stated. “That changes the DPRK capability and our training accounts for that threat.”
The summer exercise, which complements the alliance’s annual spring drills, will feature live, virtual, constructive, and field-based training elements.
While Pyongyang has not yet issued an official response, North Korea routinely condemns these allied exercises as invasion rehearsals and frequently responds with weapons demonstrations. Seoul and Washington reiterate that the maneuvers are strictly defensive.
The announcement follows a short-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea on Thursday—its first ballistic test since late June—which landed off its eastern coast.
South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. condemned the launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, with U.S. Pacific Command reaffirming its defense commitments to regional allies.
Concerns remain elevated over Pyongyang’s expanding nuclear and missile capabilities, alongside its military cooperation with Moscow, which experts warn provides North Korean troops with direct combat experience and potential access to advanced Russian military technology.