Tens of Thousands of American and South Korean soldiers kicked off large-scale military drills.
Dubbed “Ulchi Freedom Shield 25,” the war games opened on Monday and will run for 11 days. 21,000 troops will participate in the drills, including 18,000 South Korean soldiers. The troops “will conduct several large-scale, live-fire training events to strengthen interoperability, reinforce our combined defense posture, and increase combat readiness,” A statement from the US Army explained.
It continued, “Several United Nations Command member states are slated to contribute personnel and participate in various capacities.”
Washington and Seoul rescheduled half of the planned exercises for next month. The US and South Korea stated that the drills were split due to flooding and a heatwave. South Korean media reported the divide was an effort not to provoke North Korea.
Pyongyang views the war games as a threat. The North Korean defense minister warned that the war games would have “negative consequences.” He added, North Korea condemns the exercise “for their provocative moves of clearly showing the stand of military confrontation with the DPRK and making another serious challenge to the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.”
Over the past month, top North Korean officials have expressed that Pyongyang is unwilling to engage with Seoul in talks aimed at reducing tensions. Additionally, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, explained Pyongyang would only negotiate with Washington if the US dropped its demand that North Korea denuclearize.
