The United States started a major military drill with South Korea on March 9, underscoring how the allies are managing deterrence on the Korean Peninsula while the United States pursues fighting in the Middle East. The exercise, called “Freedom Shield,” is expected to run through March 19 and involves thousands of troops, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said about 18,000 South Korean troops would take part in Freedom Shield. South Korean officials, as well as U.S. Forces Korea, framed the exercise as part of the allies’ joint readiness testing as they incorporate evolving scenarios.
U.S. Forces Korea did not confirm the number of American troops participating in the training in South Korea, while the South Korean side provided its own troop figure. The allies’ combined drill comes amid South Korean media speculation that Washington is relocating some assets from South Korea to support fighting against Iran.
U.S. Forces Korea said last week it would not comment on specific movements of military assets for security reasons. South Korean officials also declined to comment on reports that some U.S. Patriot anti-missile systems and other equipment were being moved to the Middle East, but they said the changes would not meaningfully affect the allies’ combined defense posture.
Freedom Shield also adds pressure to already tense relations with North Korea. North Korea has long described South Korea-U.S. joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and has used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations and weapons tests, while the allies say the drills are defensive.
The exercise arrives after North Korea suspended all meaningful dialogue with Washington and Seoul following the 2019 breakdown of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term. Tensions rose further in recent years as Kim used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an opening to accelerate development of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and to increase leverage through alignment with Moscow, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large weapons shipments.
The U.S.-South Korea drills follow a major political conference in Pyongyang last month, where Kim confirmed his hard-line view of “enemy” Seoul but left open the possibility of talks with Washington. The North Korean leader called on the United States to drop its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue.
Freedom Shield is one of two annual “command post” exercises held by the allies, with the other “Ulchi Freedom Shield” scheduled for August. The March exercise is largely computer-simulated and designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities while adjusting to changing war scenarios and security challenges, and it is accompanied by a field training program called “Warrior Shield.”
South Korea’s defense schedule indicates that the number of field exercises during the Freedom Shield period has declined to 22 compared with 51 last year. While U.S. and South Korean militaries said field exercises are often spread throughout the year, there was also speculation that the allies are seeking to tone down spring drills to create conditions for dialogue with North Korea.
South Korea’s political direction may also shape how expectations around the exercise develop. Liberal President Lee Jae Myung has expressed a desire for diplomacy, and some of his top officials have voiced hope that a planned visit by Trump to China in late March or April could create an opening with Pyongyang.