South Korea, U.S. and Japan begin Freedom Edge multi-domain exercise

South Korea, the United States and Japan began their first trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise Thursday, as North Korea and Russia strengthened military ties through a treaty signed last week.

The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, right, departs Busan on Wednesday to take part in Freedom Edge, a new trilateral multi-domain exercise involving South Korea, the United States and Japan, in waters off the peninsula's southern coast. [NEWS1]

South Korea, the United States and Japan began their first trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise Thursday, as North Korea and Russia strengthened military ties through a treaty signed last week.

The new three-day exercise was launched in international waters south of Jeju Island, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, and aims to improve trilateral interoperability.

It aims to "protect freedom for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, including the Korean Peninsula," the JCS added.

The Freedom Edge is the first iteration of a regular exercise conducted in multiple domains, including air, sea, underwater, space and cyber. It is meant to advance trilateral military cooperation in a step up from the existing bilateral drills between the United States and its East Asian allies.

The U.S. Navy mobilized its Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, which arrived at a Busan naval base last Saturday to take part in the exercise. It was joined by warships and aircraft, including the Aegis-equipped destroyers USS Halsey and USS Daniel Inouye, the South Korean Navy's Aegis-equipped destroyer Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong and Japan's helicopter destroyer JS Ise.

Earlier this month, the defense chiefs of the three countries agreed on the Freedom Edge exercise in talks held on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The exercise builds on separate bilateral drills with the U.S. and its East Asian allies — Freedom Shield with Seoul and Keen Edge with Tokyo.

The latest drill is a result of President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's agreement at their summit in Camp David last August to conduct multi-domain trilateral exercises on a regular basis to enhance coordinated capabilities and cooperation.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Public Affairs and JCS said in statements that the exercise will focus on cooperative ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction and defensive cyber training.

Last October, the three countries conducted their first trilateral aerial drill. They also held a trilateral naval exercise in January. However, Freedom Edge is the first regular exercise conducted by the three countries in multiple domains.

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter is seen taking off from Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi in a photo provided by the South Korean Air Force on Wednesday. [AIR FORCE]

The tightened three-way cooperation comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a rare summit in Pyongyang on June 19, sealing a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that agreed to come to each other's defense if either side is attacked.

On Wednesday, Seoul and Washington staged bilateral aerial drills involving some 30 aircraft including South Korean F-35A and U.S. F-22 Raptor fighters. It was a part of the five-day Buddy Squadron exercise that the began on Monday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]