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Why Trump Cut US-South Korea Drills but Kept the Three-Way Exercise with Japan

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Official statement Ongoing story
  • The United States and South Korea scaled back the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, but the three countries will proceed with the multi-domain Freedom Edge drill.
  • The analysis attributes the difference to Freedom Edge’s broader focus on countering China across land, maritime, air, space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum.
  • North Korea condemned the exercise as evidence of continued US hostility and said it would respond with its toughest stance.

The United States reduced the scale of its August Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea, yet it is moving ahead with the three-way Freedom Edge drill involving Japan. The contrast reflects a broader strategic focus, according to this analysis: Freedom Edge is designed not only around the Korean Peninsula but also around pressure on China.

Freedom Edge is a multi-domain exercise scheduled to run from Monday through Friday. Multi-domain operations extend military activity beyond land, sea and air to space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. Because those domains operate globally, the doctrine is not confined to conventional conflict zones.

The US Army developed the concept to address the rise of China and threats from Russia. Although its framework groups Russia and China together as primary adversaries and places Iran, North Korea and extremist forces in another category, the analysis says the practical focus is Russia and China, especially China’s anti-access/area-denial strategy.

Pointless to expect any détente in the region, given the grave situation where the US’ persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK is evolving in a more dangerous way.

· North Korean Foreign Ministry spokespersonThe spokesperson condemned the three-way military exercise.

That strategy is intended to keep US carrier strike groups away from China and, if they approach, force them to withdraw through prolonged attrition. It centers on two defensive lines known as the first and second island chains. The first stretches from Japan’s Kyushu through Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines. The second runs from Japan’s Ogasawara Islands through Saipan and Guam to Indonesia.

China uses different capabilities across those lines, including short-range anti-ship missiles, submarines, cruise missiles and fighter aircraft in the first chain, and medium-range missiles, conventional and nuclear submarines, and bombers in the second. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called Freedom Edge “pointless” for regional détente and said there had been no change in its policy of responding to what it calls Washington’s hostile policy with the toughest possible stance.

There is no change in our policy toward the US to respond to its invariable hostile policy with the toughest stand to the last.

· North Korean Foreign Ministry spokespersonThe statement reiterated North Korea’s position toward Washington.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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