JCS: "Considering Heat Wave and Year-Round Balanced Training"
Senior Unification Ministry Official: "Adjustment Made in Response to Proposal on Combined Exercise"
Starting from August 18, the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise for the second half of the year, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), will officially commence. However, some of the outdoor maneuver drills have been postponed to September. While both countries have cited the heat wave as the official reason, some interpret this as reflecting recent discussions within the government about adjusting the South Korea-U.S. combined exercises.
Lee Sungjun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, held a joint briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of August 7. They announced, "South Korea and the United States have agreed to conduct the UFS exercise from August 18 to 28 to establish a combined defense posture." UFS is a defensive exercise held annually in the second half of the year, consisting of a simulation-based command post exercise (CPX) and a field training exercise (FTX).
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Forces Command stated that this year's exercise scenario incorporates realistic threats, including lessons learned from recent warfare trends, and that it will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the alliance's response capabilities and posture, including "combined and joint all-domain operations."
Additionally, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Forces Command said, "We will enhance the government's ability to conduct integrated crisis management and protect public safety, as well as strengthen cyber threat response capabilities, by supporting wartime preparedness exercises and actual training for government ministries. This will improve the nation's whole-of-government warfighting capability."
In this exercise, the United Nations Command will involve its member states in the training to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe compliance with the Armistice Agreement.
Meanwhile, of the approximately 40 FTX events originally scheduled during this year's UFS exercise, about 20 individual combined drills will be postponed and conducted in September. The combined drills to be held in September are reported to include airfield defense and damage recovery training, equipment maintenance support training, and most will be battalion-level or smaller exercises.
Regarding this, Lee explained, "After comprehensively reviewing various factors, including ensuring safe training conditions amid the severe heat wave and maintaining a balanced combined defense posture throughout the year, South Korea and the United States have closely coordinated and decided to reschedule some of the exercises to next month."
There is also interpretation that the adjustment of the South Korea-U.S. combined exercises reflects calls within the government to improve inter-Korean relations. Previously, Minister of Unification Chung Dongyoung stated on July 28 that he intended to propose adjusting UFS to President Lee Jaemyung.
A senior official from the Ministry of Unification told reporters that day, "The adjustment was made in accordance with the proposal," and added, "Easing tensions and achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are goals of both the Ministry of Unification and the Lee Jaemyung administration, as well as for the Republic of Korea." The official continued, "We hope that the South Korea-U.S. exercises will also contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in this regard."
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