US and South Korea combined exercise rankles the North

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00:00The United States and South Korea are gearing up for their annual Freedom Shield military

00:04exercises held in Ulchi, South Korea. The exercises run from August 18th through the 28th,

00:12focusing on both cyber and kinetic attacks, and may just feature one of Seoul's new air defense

00:18systems. The US and South Korea, officially called the Republic of Korea or ROK,

00:29typically hold two large-scale military exercises every year, one in the spring, one in the fall.

00:36But because of extreme heat in the region, about half of this year's 44 exercises in Ulchi

00:42are being postponed until September. Around 18,000 soldiers from the ROK are expected to

00:48take part in this year's event. It's not entirely clear how many US troops are taking part,

00:54but it's estimated to be around 3,000. Freedom Shield 2025 will include combined

01:00live-fire field exercises and computer simulated command post training.

01:06As with other recent military drills, ROK and US forces are incorporating lessons learned from

01:12the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as well. That means training troops to address

01:18threats from drones, GPS jamming, or cyber attacks on the command and control infrastructure.

01:25However, the main goal of pretty much all Freedom Shield events remains countering the threats from

01:32North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, as well as drilling on how to deal with the fallout of a

01:39nuclear attack on South Korean soil. North Korea continues to invest heavily in its rocket and missile

01:46programs, and Pyongyang continues to strengthen partnerships with US adversaries like Iran,

01:52Russia, and China. At the same time, there is growing uncertainty among US allies about the

01:58level of America's involvement in its current defensive partnerships. Starting back in President

02:04Donald Trump's first term, he was calling on South Korea to pay more for its own defense

02:09and in exchange for the 28,000 US troops stationed there. Seoul is heeding that message and developing

02:17new launchers and interceptors to bolster its air defense capabilities. The ROK recently unveiled its

02:24L-SAM launcher firing a new anti-aircraft missile for the first time. The L-SAM launcher can also fire

02:31anti-ballistic missiles and is designed to fill the gaps in the ROK's long-range air defenses.

02:38No word on whether the L-SAM launcher will be deployed during Freedom Shield 2025, but after all

02:45the focus on all the air defense systems during Talisman Sabre in Australia, I'd say it's a safe bet.

02:52North Korea, as expected, is denouncing the Freedom Shield exercises, with Pyongyang warning

02:57of quote, negative consequences as a result of the provocative moves being made. For more reporting like

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