On August 19, the armed forces of the Republic of Korea and the United States began conducting joint exercises (Ulchi Freedom Shield), aimed at “strengthening joint defence capability in the face of growing threats from North Korea, as well as checking the interaction of troops in war conditions”.

What will the exercises bring, and in which atmosphere did they commence?

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, the programme of the exercises, which will last until August 29, includes command and staff manoeuvres based on computer modelling, field exercises and 4-day civil defence exercises, the participants of which will practice repelling threats from North Korean missiles, GPS jamming and cyberattacks. Moreover, for the first time, this exercise will involve a scenario simulating a nuclear attack by North Korea. According to North Korean data, the programme includes both the “capture of Pyongyang” and “decapitation operations”.

The scale of the exercises will be similar to last year’s and about 19 thousand South Korean servicemen will take part in them. However, the number of elements of manoeuvres, such as amphibious landings and live firing exercises, has been increased from 38 to 48. The number of exercises at the brigade level will also increase from 4 to 17. In addition to South Korean and US troops, representatives of UN Command member countries will also take part in the exercises.

As part of the manoeuvres, the South Korean Strategic Command, which is planned to be established in the second half of the year, will also be checked.

All in all, it’s not so bad. After all, repelling a nuclear attack was excluded from the exercise programme.

Is the president awaiting provocations?

The exercises began in an atmosphere of alarmist excitement, voiced personally by the President of Republic of Korea (ROK). On August 19, at a cabinet meeting, President of ROK Yoon Suk Yeol said that as the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East shows that war can flare up at any moment and ROK is already facing “the most reckless and irrational provocations in the world” from DPRK.

Yoon then repeated the idea that modern military conflicts have changed and moved into a hybrid form that combines regular and irregular warfare, cyber operations,........

© New Eastern Outlook