The joint US-South Korean military exercises "Ulchi Freedom Shield" (UFS) have begun, the South Korean news agency "Yonhap" reported, News.bg reports.
The annual maneuvers will continue until August 27 and will include joint operations in all directions. Their main goal is to increase the combat readiness of the allies by simulating realistic military threats.
According to "Yonhap" The exercises also serve as a test bed for assessing South Korea's ability to take charge of the two countries' combined forces in the region.
Less field exercises
This year, the field portion of the maneuvers will be limited. The United States and South Korea will conduct 14 battalion-level exercises, down from 17 last year.
According to the agency, the decision is part of the South Korean president's administration's efforts to reduce tensions with the DPRK. Pyongyang has traditionally condemned joint US-South Korean maneuvers, describing them as preparations for war.
„Ulchi Freedom Shield“ are one of the allies' main annual exercises to prepare for a possible conflict with North Korea. They are held alongside the spring „Freedom Shield“ (FS).
Pyongyang threatens response
The DPRK has already described the exercises as a threat to regional security and warned that it will respond with a “new level of deterrence“.
Seoul, for its part, insists that the maneuvers are entirely defensive in nature and are intended to prepare for the defense of the Korean Peninsula.
Amid the tension surrounding the exercises, US President Donald Trump said that he had given an instruction to reduce the scale of the joint maneuvers.
“I am not happy with the fact that the US previously agreed to participate in joint exercises with South Korea“, Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social.
According to the US president, the exercises are too expensive, with a significant part of the costs being borne by the US. He also described them as a “completely unnecessary hostile signal“ towards North Korea.