South Korea, U.S. to begin Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise next week amid threats from North

South Korea and the United States will begin their annual summertime joint military exercise next week to strengthen their combined defense posture and response capabilities, according to the allies on Monday.

Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, and United States Forces Korea spokesman Col. Ryan Donald shake hands at a joint press briefing on the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Monday. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

South Korea and the United States will begin their annual summertime joint military exercise next week to strengthen their combined defense posture and response capabilities, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and United States Forces Korea (USFK) on Monday.

The allies said that the exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), is scheduled to take place from Aug. 19 to 29 and will include a computer simulation-based command post exercise, field training maneuvers and civil defense drills.

During the allies' announcement of the exercise period at a joint press briefing, JCS spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun said the civil defense portion of the exercise, known as the Ulchi drills, will run from Aug. 19 to 22 and include preparations for a hypothetical North Korean nuclear attack.

Although the JCS spokesman said that the military portion would not include planning for such contingencies, the press release by the South Korean and U.S. forces said that the exercise is intended to strengthen the allies' "capabilities and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction."

Earlier this month, the allies conducted their first tabletop exercise to integrate South Korean conventional forces with U.S. nuclear capabilities.

Lee said that approximately 19,000 South Korean soldiers are expected to participate in 48 field training maneuvers, including amphibious landings and live-fire drills, as an "essential element for maintaining a strong defense posture of the Republic of Korea," referring to South Korea by its official name.

USFK spokesman Col. Ryan Donald did not specify the number of U.S. troops participating in the exercise and declined to confirm whether the drills will involve U.S. strategic assets, which have been deployed to the region to train with South Korean and Japanese forces and deter the North.

But Donald said that the upcoming exercise "will reflect realistic threats across all domains, such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's missile threats, and we will take in lessons learned from recent armed conflicts," referring to the North by its official name.

The USFK spokesman also said that field maneuver and live fire exercises by South Korean and U.S. troops "will strengthen the alliance's interoperability while showcasing our combined capabilities and resolve."

Personnel from several United Nations Command (UNC) member states are also expected to join the exercise. The UNC is responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

In addition to launching 37 ballistic missiles so far this year, the North has launched thousands of trash-laden balloons across the heavily guarded demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula since May and also jammed GPS signals along the border.

The upcoming joint exercise is likely to lead the North to ratchet up tensions.

The regime has repeatedly claimed that the drills are a rehearsal for an invasion of its territory, and it carried out ballistic missile tests during last year's joint exercise that it said were intended to simulate "scorched earth" nuclear strikes on South Korean targets.

While the allies have argued Ulchi Freedom Shield is defensive in nature, Lee also noted that the exercise is intended to highlight the allies' "firm readiness posture to punish immediately, strongly and relentlessly in case of a provocation" by the North.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]