The U.S. and South Korean military authorities will conduct the regular joint exercise 'Freedom Shield' (FS) for the defense of the Korean Peninsula from the 10th to the 20th. Live-fire training will not be conducted due to the fighter jet mishap.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the U.S. and South Korea will conduct a joint field training exercise (FTX) across all domains, including land, sea, air, cyber, and space, in connection with the command post training (CPX) scenario of the FS exercise, assuming a full-scale war situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The two countries will increase the number of joint field training exercises during FS from 10 last year to 16 this year. In particular, they will reflect the tactical changes observed in the North Korean military's deployment to Russia in scenarios, such as GPS disruption, cyberattacks, and drone attacks.
Due to the fighter jet mishap that occurred on the 6th, live-fire training will not be conducted. The Ministry of National Defense suspended all live-fire training until the exact cause of the incident, in which two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets accidentally dropped eight MK-82 bombs on civilians, injuring dozens, is determined.
Meanwhile, North Korea has responded to the U.S.-South Korea joint exercise by calling it an 'invasion exercise' and may use this as a pretext for a display of force. North Korea stated through state media on the 7th regarding the FS exercise, 'It has equipped itself with all malicious signs while undergoing the worst variations, and will soon bring a storm of worsening tension to the Korean Peninsula.'