From the 13th, South Korea and the U.S. to Conduct 'Freedom Shield' Joint Exercises... Reflecting North Korea's Nuclear and Missile Threats

Simultaneous Large-Scale ROK-US Joint Exercises Conducted
"ROK-US Alliance Response Capability Further Strengthened"

South Korea and the United States will conduct significantly enhanced combined military exercises this month. Compared to last year, the training period has been extended, and outdoor maneuver exercises have become more diverse.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The combined forces of South Korea and the U.S. announced on the 3rd that they will conduct the Freedom Shield (FS) joint exercise for 11 days within a 23-day period starting from the 13th. Until last year, the exercises were divided into two phases?Phase 1 (defense) and Phase 2 (offense)?and lasted for 9 days, but from this year onward, the exercises will be conducted continuously for 11 days without dividing into phases. Using computer simulations, scenarios involving military provocations including North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats will be assumed to assess the combined defense posture.

On the same day, South Korea and the U.S. stated, "This joint exercise will be based on exercise scenarios that reflect the evolving threats such as North Korea’s advancement in nuclear and missile capabilities and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts, as well as the changed security environment, and will conduct tailored exercises to further strengthen the alliance’s response capabilities."

Simultaneously with the FS joint exercise, multiple outdoor field maneuver exercises will also be conducted. The FS joint exercise plans to carry out division-level combined amphibious landing exercises and over 20 combined South Korea-U.S. outdoor maneuver exercises at a scale comparable to the past Foal Eagle (FE) exercises. Starting with the Ssangryong combined amphibious landing exercise involving the South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps, combined science-based combat training, combined attack helicopter firing exercises, and combined maritime patrol operations will be conducted. This effectively marks the revival of the Foal Eagle exercises, which were suspended during the Moon Jae-in administration.

During this FS joint exercise, a four-star general from the South Korean military will command the future Combined Forces Command and complete the Full Operational Capability (FOC) evaluation, which is the second phase of the three-stage operational capability assessment for the wartime operational control transfer.

However, it seems unlikely that the newly developed Operational Plan (OPLAN) 2022, created by South Korea and the U.S. to respond to North Korea’s tactical nuclear weapon threats, will be applied in this exercise. The plan is being refined through computer simulation war games, and it is expected that the draft will be finalized only after final approval between South Korea and the U.S., likely in April.

FS is a South Korea-U.S. combined exercise that North Korea defines as a "war rehearsal for invasion," and provocations from North Korea are expected in response to this exercise. Previously, on the 28th of last month, North Korea’s external propaganda outlet Ryomyong published an article by Heo Il-ryong of the Korean Council of Religious People, stating, "(South Korea and the U.S.) are conducting a series of large-scale anti-Republic war exercises," and warned, "We will never tolerate the embodiment of fire and evil who insist on igniting the fuse of war, the Satanic group who defies the will of the Lord."

Because of this, there are concerns that North Korea may start provocations with short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) aimed at the Korean Peninsula and escalate to intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocations targeting the United States. This could lead to the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula and provoke North Korea to respond with missile launches, escalating into a ‘strong-on-strong confrontation’ phase. Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said, "North Korea may conduct military demonstrations with various missiles in response to the South Korea-U.S. exercises, sending a warning message against the combined exercises."