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US, S.Korean militaries to kick off Freedom Shield drills on Monday NHK

The US and South Korean militaries are to begin their regular joint exercises on Monday. They will simulate emergencies on the Korean Peninsula.

The militaries will carry out the Freedom Shield drills in South Korea for 11 days through March 14.

They plan 48 field training exercises -- roughly doubling the number for Freedom Shield in spring of last year. The drills will include bombing, live-fire shooting and intercepting cruise missiles. They say the drills are designed to deal with a nuclear threat from North Korea.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reports that the US military may deploy strategic arms, such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a strategic bomber, to the Korean Peninsula during the drills' period. North Korea strongly opposes those weapons' involvement.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has stressed he sees South Korea not as a counterpart for unification but a foe. He said in an address in February that it is a national policy to occupy South Korean territory in the event of war.

During the Freedom Shield drills a year earlier, North Korea fired an ICBM-class Hwasong-17 missile and several short-range ballistic missiles.

Observers say that in response to this year's exercises, the North may launch missiles that are designed to carry nuclear warheads.
Summary
US and South Korea will conduct joint military exercises, Freedom Shield drills, from March 7-18, simulating emergencies on the Korean Peninsula. The drills will include bombing, shooting, and missile interception exercises, with a focus on countering North Korea's nuclear threat. Reports suggest
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ID: f91f4496-98c2-4176-b1f2-905a104cb6ea

Category ID: nhk

URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240304_03/

Date: March 4, 2024

Created: 2024/03/04 06:30

Updated: 2025/12/08 16:56

Last Read: 2024/03/04 09:08