S. Korea To Stage Large-Scale Military Drill With U.S. From March 13-23

Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea and the U.S. will hold their annual military exercises later this month in order to boost deterrence against North Korea's threats.

• The allies will conduct their annual Freedom Shield drill from March 13-23, which will be the longest-ever edition of the annual exercise. It will be held alongside a large-scale field training exercise Warrior Shield intended to improve the allies' readiness to respond to North Korean threats.
• "Freedom Shield is designed to strengthen defence and response capabilities of the Alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment, DPRK aggression and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts," U.S. forces spokesperson told reporters.
• DPRK leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong said last month that the North would respond to any fresh drills conducted by the Allies and warned that "the frequency of using the Pacific as our firing rangedepends upon the U.S. forces' action character."