the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on the 27th that the South Korean and U.S. militaries agreed to conduct 22 field training exercises (FTX), in which actual troops move, during this year's "Freedom Shield" (FS) exercise.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), during this year's FS, the South Korea-U.S. combined field training will include six brigade-level or higher drills, 10 battalion-level drills, and six company-level drills. Compared with the FS exercise in March last year, the scale of field training has been sharply reduced. During last year's FS, a total of 51 field training drills were conducted. There were also 13 large-scale combined field training drills at the brigade level or higher.

Jang Do-young, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Ryan Donald, spokesperson for U.S. Forces Korea, hold a joint briefing on the 2026 Freedom Shield (FS) exercise plan at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, "South Korea and the United States have closely consulted on combined field training," and added, "During the FS exercise, field training will proceed normally, and we will carry out 22 drills as originally planned." A U.S. Forces Korea official also said, "Consultations were conducted through close coordination between South Korea and the United States," adding, "We will execute 22 live field training drills during FS to create training conditions for service members in a realistic environment."

Earlier, on the 25th, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced the FS exercise plan through a joint briefing but did not disclose the scale and number of combined field training drills, saying additional coordination was needed. During the consultations, the Korean side proposed scaling back field training during FS, but the U.S. side reacted negatively, delaying the agreement, according to reports.

The two countries also plan to conduct combined field training dispersed throughout the year outside the FS period. An official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) explained, "You can view it as dispersing many field training drills throughout the year so that we maintain a constant state of combat readiness."

FS is a defensive exercise conducted annually by South Korea and the United States, with about 18,000 troops participating.

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