Seoul: South Korea and the United States have agreed to conduct 22 field training drills during their annual joint springtime military exercise next month, significantly reducing the number of such drills compared to last year, officials announced Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the planned number of field training exercises (FTX) for this year's Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is less than half of the 51 conducted last year under the former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration. The allies announced that the FS exercise would take place from March 9-19, but initially withheld details on the scope of the Warrior Shield field drills, citing ongoing consultations.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official confirmed during a regular press briefing that South Korea and the U.S. have been coordinating closely regarding the joint live field training drills. The official stated that 22 on-field training drills are planned during the FS exercise period.
A U.S. Forces Korea official added that both nations had consented to 22 live field training events, which will involve "tough, realistic, demanding training" that both the Korean and U.S. public expect. A JCS official elaborated that spreading out the combined drills aims to ensure a year-round readiness posture.
This year's FTXs will include six large-scale live field trainings at the brigade-level, 10 at the battalion-level, and six at the company-level. It is believed that South Korea proposed further reductions in field drills to resume dialogue with North Korea. However, the U.S. reportedly had reservations, as its assets are already on the ground.
North Korea has consistently criticized the Seoul-Washington joint military drills, labeling them as rehearsals for invasion, although the allies maintain that the combined exercise is defensive in nature.