South Korea, US launch Ulchi drills after North Korea missile test

South Korea and the US will begin the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise next Monday. The drill comes just after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing, sharpening regional tensions.

In Short

• The 11-day exercise will involve about 18,000 South Korean soldiers
• Officials said the drills include realistic threats and recent conflict lessons
• Washington cited North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine as a changing risk

South Korean and US troops will begin their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises next Monday, with the allies saying the drills are meant to strengthen readiness against threats from North Korea. The 11-day exercise will be held on a scale similar to previous years, with about 18,000 South Korean soldiers taking part.

The announcement came days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing, an activity banned under multiple UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea has long described major joint military drills by South Korea and the US as preparations for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington say the exercises are defensive.

South Korean military spokesperson Jang Do-young told reporters that the scale of the exercise would be similar to earlier years. At the same briefing, US military spokesperson Ryan Donald said that by incorporating realistic threats, including “lessons from recent conflicts”, the drills would help strengthen the alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations.

Donald pointed to North Korea’s dispatch of troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in recent years. “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,” he said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name. “That changes the DPRK capability and our training accounts for that threat.”

The summertime drill is one of the two main combined exercises held each year by the South Korean and US militaries, alongside their spring training. The US military said Ulchi Freedom Shield includes “live, virtual, constructive and field-based training”.

North Korea had no immediate comment on the upcoming exercise. However, it has consistently responded to large US-South Korea drills with weapons tests and strong rhetoric. On Thursday, South Korea, the US and Japan detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile by North Korea, its first ballistic weapons test since late June. The missile fell into waters off North Korea’s east coast.

South Korea and Japan condemned the launch as a provocation and a threat, noting that UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from carrying out ballistic activities. The US Pacific Command said the US remained committed to the defence of the US homeland and its allies in the region.

North Korea has been accelerating efforts to expand its nuclear and missile arsenals since leader Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy with then US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Experts have also raised concerns that North Korea’s supply of troops and ammunition to Russia may have led to the transfer of sensitive technologies that could advance its nuclear and missile programmes, while also giving North Korean forces battlefield experience. Overall, the new round of exercises comes as tensions remain high following the latest missile launch and continued concern over North Korea’s military advances.

With PTI Inputs

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