South Korea and the United States will conduct their joint military exercise, Freedom Shield (FS), from March 10 to 20. Despite the temporary suspension of all live-fire training following an accidental airstrike by an Air Force fighter jet in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, the FS exercise—which includes simulations and field maneuvers—will continue as scheduled.
On Thursday afternoon, officials from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, Air Force, and Army met with reporters to provide an update. They confirmed, “All live-fire training, both on the ground and in the air, will be suspended until the cause of the incident is fully determined. However, field maneuver training for each unit will proceed as planned, and the FS exercise will carry on without delay.”
Earlier that day, U.S. and South Korean military leaders held a joint briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, to announce details of the upcoming FS exercise. They explained that the exercise scenarios would reflect real-world threats and incorporate North Korean military tactics and capabilities based on an analysis of Russia-North Korea military cooperation and various global conflicts.
To align with the exercise’s objectives, the officials also announced plans to expand joint field maneuvers across all domains, including land, sea, air, cyber, and space. South Korea will deploy over 19,000 troops for the exercise and conduct 16 joint field maneuvers—six more than last year.
Both nations emphasized that this exercise, the first FS training since President Donald Trump’s second term began, would demonstrate the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Ryan Donald, spokesperson for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, emphasized the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, stating it is stronger than ever. He affirmed their commitment to enhancing preparedness and interoperability to protect both nations from potential threats.
At the end of the briefing, Lee Seong Jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said, “We go together” in English, while Donald responded with “Let’s go together” in Korean.
However, traditional martial law exercises were scaled back due to the emergency martial law situation in December 1973. The spokesperson explained, “The martial law exercises will be adjusted with some scenario changes and will focus primarily on internal military response measures.”