An RC-12X Guardrail takes off at the U.S. Army base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, March 10, 2025, as South Korea and the United States kick off their joint annual military exercise, the Freedom Shield. Yonhap

The militaries of South Korea and the United States said Wednesday they will stage their annual joint springtime exercise next month to strengthen their combined defense posture, but they have yet to agree on details of related field training in a rare move.

The Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to take place from March 9-19, involving the field training exercise dubbed "Warrior Shield," according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The allies' militaries said the upcoming drills will help further strengthen the alliance's readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations.

"This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a condition-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement," they said in a joint statement.

South Korea is seeking to achieve the "conditions-based" handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term that ends in 2030.

A JCS official explained some 18,000 troops are expected to take part in this year's FS exercise, a level on par with around 19,000 personnel last year.

But in a rare move, the allies announced the FS exercise plan without reaching an agreement over the scope of field training exercises that will be simultaneously carried out, only saying that they are still in consultation over Warrior Shield.

"The joint drills will be conducted as planned. The field training exercises during the FS period are being closely coordinated between South Korea and the U.S.," Capt. Jang Do-young, the JCS spokesperson said, stressing that the combined drills will be "spread out" to ensure a year-round readiness posture.

But the USFK stressed that the Freedom Shield and the Warrior Shield exercises will be carried out as planned next month.

Source: Korea Times News