South Korea, US Begin Joint Military ExerciseSeoul, 18 Aug (ONA) — South Korea and the United States kicked off an annual combined exercise today to bolster their joint defense readiness.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, which runs for 11 days, involves drills incorporating “realistic” threats aimed at enhancing the allies’ capabilities across all domains. Some 18,000 South Korean troops will be mobilized for this year’s drills, according to South Korea’s (Yonhap) news agency.
While South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said this year’s exercise will be held at a similar scale compared with last year, around half of some 40 planned field training exercises will be pushed back to September.
The UFS exercise will be held alongside a four-day civil defense exercise that runs through Thursday, mobilizing about 580,000 civilians and will include efforts to fend off attacks from drones and cyberattacks.
On Wednesday, an anti-air raid civil defense drill will be conducted nationwide as part of the civil defense drills. — Ends/AH