issuing time: 20/08/2022 – 22:26
Washington is seeking to boost strategic ties with its close Asian allies. On August 22, the United States and South Korea will hold the largest joint military exercise in four years.
The joint military exercise, called “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, will involve tens of thousands of officers and soldiers conducting live-fire exercises of the sea, land and air forces. The drills included simulations of joint simulated attacks, augmentation of front-line forces, and securing weapons of mass destruction.
A South Korean Defense Ministry official told the media that the units will also practice the use of drones for surveillance, as well as rehearse new developments in the war arising from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The exercise marks a departure from the former South Korean policy of easing relations between the two Koreas, pursued by former President Moon Jae-in.
U.S.-South Korea military exercises were shelved under former U.S. President Donald Trump, when Trump and Moon Jae-in held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and withdrew U.S.-South Korea military cooperation in a gesture of goodwill toward Pyongyang.
However, talks over the signing of an agreement to formally end the Korean War, and North Korea’s pledge to dismantle its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, eventually stalled.
Trump is reluctant to resume joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, citing high costs and unnecessaryness; the resumption of military exercises has been further delayed under the influence of the new crown epidemic.
The plan to restart military exercises between the United States and South Korea has been going on for several months. The resumption of military exercises has grown in importance amid growing fears that North Korea is planning a seventh underground nuclear test.
Meanwhile, U.S.-China relations continue to be tense. Beijing has continued to put pressure on Taiwan after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month.
Russia recently announced that it will receive troops from China, Belarus, Mongolia, India and Tajikistan, and will hold a 7-day “Vostok-2022” military exercise from August 30.
Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at Seoul’s Troy University, said senior military officials in Washington and Seoul called for the resumption of military exercises, citing a lack of crisis-focused drills weakened by troops.