South Korea says will hold joint military drills with US, Japan

SEOUL

US military vehicles and US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters (top) are seen at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek (AFP Photo)

South Korea said on Aug. 28 that it will hold joint military exercises with the United States and Japan in September, after Washington scaled back annual drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to encourage dialogue with North Korea.

The three countries will conduct the North Korea-focused Freedom Edge exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea's Jeju Island, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

"This exercise is a defensive drill conducted annually by the three countries to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and safeguard peace and stability in the region," the JCS said in a statement.

The multi-domain exercise is expected to include maritime missile defense, air and air-defense drills, anti-submarine warfare and cyber defense, according to Seoul's Yonhap news agency.

Freedom Edge was first held in June 2024 following an agreement reached by the leaders of the three countries at their Camp David summit in 2023.

"This premier multi-domain exercise will continue to reinforce our shared values, enhance our shared interoperability and further strengthen our defense partnerships to ensure peace and stability throughout the Pacific," said Lt. Cmdr. Chloe Morgan, a spokesperson for the United States Pacific Command, Yonhap reported on Aug. 26.

The announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump this month ordered the countries' annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises cut from 11 days to five.

Trump at the time said the drills were "very insulting" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said Kim had been "very well behaved", as Washington seeks to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.

South Korea said on Aug. 24 that the United States had cancelled another joint exercise, the biennial Ssangyong drills, due to constraints on force availability caused by the war with Iran.

Despite Trump's overtures, North Korea has shown little sign of reciprocating, firing missiles and condemning the scaled-down drills, as well as Washington's approval of arms sales to South Korea and plans to fund programs documenting human rights abuses in the North.