S. Korea, US to hold annual drills to combat potential nuclear threat
South Korea and the United States will begin their annual spring military drills next week – aiming to prevent the DPRK’s possible use of nuclear weapons, officials said, Reuters reports
The Freedom Shield exercise will come as North Korea continues to test missiles and other weapons systems and develop its nuclear capabilities, and will be the first since Pyongyang ended a 2018 inter-Korean military pact in November. They are scheduled for March 4th-14th.
The exercise will be ‘tough and realistic’, basing on scenarios that reflect lessons from recent conflicts, the two countries’ militaries said at a briefing.
Forty-eight tests, that will be conducted as part of a combined field exercise including air assault, live-firing ad bombing training, will involve twice as many troops from both sides as last year, said Colonel Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
