South Korea and the United States will conduct joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, from 9 to 19 March, military officials from both countries announced on Wednesday.
Speaking at a briefing, officials described the annual exercise as defensive in nature. North Korea has frequently denounced the drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.
Operational control transfer
This year’s exercise will support ongoing preparations for the transfer of U.S. wartime operational control to South Korea. Previous iterations of the drills have included multi-domain and command-post training designed to build readiness for the handover.
Seoul aims to complete the transfer of military command before President Lee Jae-myung’s term ends in 2030.
Officials added that next month’s exercise will incorporate deterrence scenarios related to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Diplomatic outreach
President Lee has sought to improve relations with North Korea but Pyongyang has rebuffed those efforts.
South Korean media previously reported that Seoul had proposed scaling back field training exercises as part of its diplomatic outreach. The reports said the proposal met resistance from the U.S.
Officials told Reuters that discussions over potential adjustments to the field drills remain ongoing.
Meanwhile, North Korea is currently holding the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
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