The United States and South Korea began their largest joint military exercises since 2018 against the growing nuclear threat from North Korea on Monday, Seoul said. Washington is a close security ally of Seoul. Some 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to protect it from its nuclear-armed neighbor.
The “Ulchi Freedom Shield” maneuvers mark the resumption of large-scale training between US and South Korean forces after their drawdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and also mark a diplomatic failure in the face of Pyongyang.
“The importance of this joint exercise is to rebuild the alliance between South Korea and the United States and consolidate the common defense structure by trivializing … joint exercises and field training,” the Korean Defense Ministry said. from the south.
The North Korean threat
No information has been released about the maneuvers scheduled for August 22 to September 1, but they generally include exercises involving aviation, warships, tanks and tens of thousands of soldiers.
At a meeting last week, the two allies agreed to “expand the scope and scale of joint military exercises and training” in the face of mounting missile tests by North Korea.
According to analysts, North Korea could use these exercises as a pretext for further testing. Earlier this month, Pyongyang threatened “deadly” retaliation against South Korea, which it holds responsible for a recent Covid-19 outbreak on its soil.
The threat came less than a month after Kim Jong Un said his country was “ready to deploy” its nuclear deterrent in the event of a possible military confrontation with the United States and South Korea.
Source: BFM TV
