Airman 1st Class Tylor Chism of the 51st Security Forces Squadron engages simulated combatants during an Ulchi Freedom Shield drill at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Aug. 20, 2024. (Sabrina Fuller-Judd/U.S. Air Force)
SUWON, South Korea — Thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops have concluded an annual large-scale exercise the two allies describe as defensive drills, and North Korea claims destabilizes the region.
Around 19,000 South Korean troops were involved in the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on land, air, sea and in cyberspace to demonstrate “the alliance’s combined capabilities and enhanced interoperability across all levels of command,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a news release Thursday.
The military uses interoperability to describe the ability of one nation’s military to use another’s training methods and equipment.
Photos released by USFK during the exercise revealed U.S. and South Korean troops drilling in Kunsan and Osan air bases and the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, about 16 miles south of the border with North Korea.
Ulchi Freedom Shield is one of two large-scale, joint military exercises held annually in South Korea. The other, Freedom Shield, occurs in March.
North Korea condemned Ulchi Freedom Shield on its first day, Aug. 19, as offensive in nature and the instigation of crisis on the Korean Peninsula, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that day.
Soldiers assigned to the 65th Medical Brigade prepare to transport a simulated casualty during an Ulchi Freedom Shield drill in Pocheon, South Korea, Aug. 26, 2024. (Jonathan Clutter/U.S. Army)
This year, the exercise addressed threats from North Korea’s missiles, GPS jamming and cyberattacks. More than 200 U.S. and South Korean military aircraft made about 2,000 sorties in five days, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense.
South Korean military reservists, and U.S. federal and South Korean civil agencies also participated with counterterrorism drills in urban areas, according to the ministry.
In a first, representatives of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and a host of other Seoul-based government agencies and USFK gathered Aug. 20 to confer on measures to deter North Korean disinformation campaigns. The conference addressed “gray zone provocations” from the North, such as fake government messages and manipulated videos, the ministry said.
Another U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise got underway during Ulchi Freedom Shield. The 13-day Ssangyong exercise began Aug. 26 and focuses on maritime drills along the eastern coast.
During the exercise, over 40 U.S. and South Korean aircraft, 40 amphibious assault vehicles and 40 ships will be practicing amphibious skills over, near and on South Korean beachheads, Indo-Pacific Command said in a news release Aug. 26.
Last year’s Ssangyong involved 2,500 U.S. Marines and sailors and 3,000 troops from South Korea.
During Ulchi Freedom Shield, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw several weapons tests, according to KCNA.
Kim on Tuesday supervised the test-firing of a 240 mm rocket launcher outfitted with an upgraded guidance system. Earlier, he oversaw tests of domestically produced military drones, one of which appeared to strike an armored vehicle resembling South Korea’s K-2 Black Panther tank, KCNA reported.
