The regular joint South Korea-U.S. training for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, dubbed 'Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS),' will be launched in earnest starting from the 18th. This is the first UFS exercise conducted since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung government.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea and the United States Forces Korea announced the schedule for this year's UFS exercise during a joint press conference held at the Ministry of National Defense building on the 7th. The UFS exercise is a training conducted annually in the second half of the year by both nations. It consists of command post exercises (CPX) based on simulations and field training exercises (FTX). The United Nations Command, celebrating its 75th anniversary, plans to involve member nations in this exercise. The Neutral Nation Supervisory Commission will observe compliance with the Armistice Agreement.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Forces Command noted, 'The UFS exercise is a defensive training,' adding that 'it will be an opportunity to strengthen the alliance's response capabilities by reflecting realistic threats analyzed through recent war patterns into the exercise scenarios, including 'combined and joint operations across all domains.' They further stated, 'We will enhance the national comprehensive mobilization capability at a government-wide level by supporting the wartime preparation exercises and actual training of government departments.'
This year's UFS exercise will be conducted on a scale similar to last year's. Approximately 18,000 South Korean troops will participate in the training. The U.S. military is also expected to join at a scale similar to last year. Colonel Ryan Donald, the director of public affairs for the U.S. Forces Korea, said at a briefing, 'The number of troops participating (in the exercise) may vary slightly depending on the training conducted during the UFS exercise, but it will be similar to last year.'
In particular, half of the more than 40 field training exercises planned for this UFS exercise will be postponed to September. The Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman, Lee Seong-jun, explained, 'After comprehensively reviewing various factors, including ensuring training conditions due to extreme heat and maintaining a balanced defense readiness posture throughout the year, we decided, through close consultations between South Korea and the U.S., to adjust some of the training to next month.'
However, some evaluate that this reflects consideration to avoid provoking North Korea and the suggestion made by Minister Jeong Dong-young to adjust the UFS training. In response, the Deputy Minister stated, 'The outdoor training linked to the joint training scenario and the training with U.S. personnel and equipment will be conducted normally,' adding that 'for a balanced combat readiness posture, it may be better to carry out the training in a distributed manner.' The postponed training includes airport defense exercises conducted at battalion level and below, according to the authorities.
The joint statement released that day did not mention 'North Korea.' In last year's UFS, there was a phrase stating, 'focusing on responding to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction.' Regarding this, the Deputy Minister noted, 'The term North Korea was absent during the UFS exercises in 2022 and 2024,' adding that 'there may be differences from year to year.' Donald stated, 'The absence of the word 'North Korea' does not change the fact that North Korea remains a significant threat to security on the Korean Peninsula.'