South Korea and U.S. to Shorten Joint Air Exercise "Freedom Flag" to One Week

Air Force: "Aimed at Maintaining Military Readiness for APEC"

South Korea and the United States have decided to shorten the schedule for their joint air exercise, "Freedom Flag," originally planned for two weeks starting on the 27th, to one week.

The Air Force announced on the 23rd, "To maintain military readiness for the 2025 Gyeongju Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, the joint Freedom Flag exercise will be conducted intensively for one week after the APEC Summit."

According to the Air Force, South Korea and the United States reviewed possible periods to conduct the joint exercise for two weeks within the year. However, due to circumstances on the U.S. side, it was difficult to adjust the timing. As a result, it was agreed that the first week of the planned period would be a U.S.-only exercise, and the second week would be a joint South Korea-U.S. exercise.

The Air Force stated, "The participating forces from both South Korea and the United States are similar to previous years," and added, "The air forces of both countries will strive to achieve the training objective of enhancing joint operational capabilities."