SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 South Korean and U.S. troops will begin their expanded annual military drills next week in response to North Korea\u2019s evolving nuclear threats, the two countries said Wednesday, a move that will likely enrage North Korea because it views its rivals\u2019 joint training as an invasion rehearsal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent months, North Korea has inflamed animosities on the Korean Peninsula with\u00a0fiery rhetoric\u00a0and continued\u00a0missile tests. While it\u2019s unlikely for North Korea to launch full-blown attacks against South Korea and the U.S., observers say the North could still stage limited provocations along the tense border with South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday, the South Korea and U.S. militaries jointly announced that the allies will conduct\u00a0Freedom Shield\u00a0exercise, a computer-simulated command post training, and a variety of separate field training, from March 4-14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Col. Lee Sung-Jun, a spokesperson for South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the allies\u2019 drills are designed to bolster their joint capabilities to prevent North Korea from using its nuclear weapons. He said the allies are to carry out 48 field exercises this spring, twice the number conducted last year, and that this year\u2019s drills would involve air assault, live-firing and bombing training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur military is ready to punish North Korea immediately, strongly and to the end in the event of its provocation, and we\u2019ll further strengthen our firm readiness through the upcoming drills,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Col. Isaac L. Taylor, a spokesperson for the U.S. military, said the allies\u2019 exercises have been defensive in nature and that there is solid evidence that \u201ca high readiness rate\u201d helps ensure deterrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea didn\u2019t immediately respond to the drills\u2019 announcement. North Korea has reacted to previous major South Korea-U.S. military drills with its own missile tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea has sharply intensified its weapons testing activities since 2022 in part of its efforts to expand its nuclear and missile arsenals. This year, the North already conducted six rounds of missile tests \u2014 five of them reportedly involving cruise missiles \u2014 and other weapons launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lee, the South Korean military spokesperson, said that the upcoming South Korea-U.S. drills would involve training to detect and shoot down North Korean cruise missiles. Analysts say North Korea would likely use cruise missiles to attack incoming U.S. warships in the event of a conflict, as well as U.S. military installations in Japan. The North\u2019s weapons tests in 2022 and 2023 largely focused on ballistic weapons systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts say North Korea believes a bigger weapons arsenal would allow it to pressure the U.S. and South Korea more effectively to make concessions like sanctions relief when diplomacy resumes. They expect North Korea to ramp up its testing activities and other provocations this year as both the U.S. and South Korea head into major elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Korea and the U.S. have responded to the North\u2019s testing spree with expansions of their\u00a0bilateral military drills\u00a0and trilateral exercises involving Japan. U.S. and South Korean officials have repeatedly warned that any nuclear attack by North Korea against them would spell the end of the North\u2019s government led by Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a telephone call earlier Wednesday, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned North Korea\u2019s missile tests and reaffirmed the need to maintain an overwhelming joint defense posture, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. The Pentagon said Austin reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the defense of South Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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