From the 4th of Next Month, ROK-US Joint Exercises to Proceed... North Korean Nuclear Provocation Scenario

Conducted continuously for 11 days without division into 1st and 2nd units since last year
Increased outdoor mobile training sessions to about 50 times in the first half of this year

The first half of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises will be conducted over 11 days from the 4th to the 14th of next month. North Korea defines the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises as "war exercises for invading the North." Starting with short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM), it may continue provocations with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) aimed at the United States. A phase of "strong versus strong confrontation" could be created.

It has been reported that South Korea and the United States will begin joint military exercises starting on the 5th. The photo shows a US 2nd Infantry Division M1A2 SEP tank crossing a pontoon bridge during the South Korea-US joint river crossing operation training held at the Hantan River in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, in December 2015.

On the 28th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "Next month's Freedom Shield (FS) joint exercise will be conducted using computer simulations," adding, "We plan to assume scenarios of military provocations including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and check the joint defense posture." Since last year, the exercise has been conducted continuously for 11 days without dividing into Part 1 (defense) and Part 2 (offense), and it is planned to proceed the same way this year. Numerous outdoor field training exercises will also be conducted.

The number of outdoor field South Korea-U.S. joint exercises in the first half, including during this training period, will also increase significantly. On the 26th, at a press briefing held at the Ministry of National Defense, Minister Shin explained, "In preparation for North Korea's threats, the number of South Korea-U.S. joint exercises in the first half of this year will be more than doubled compared to last year," and added, "While last year's first half outdoor field exercises were about 20 times, this year nearly 50 sessions will be conducted."