19,000 Troops, Cybersecurity, and Nuclear Threats: Inside the South Korea-U.S. Military Exercise

“We will remain fully prepared to respond immediately, strongly, and decisively to any provocations.”

The joint South Korea-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises will occur from the 19th to the 29th of this month.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced today that the upcoming UFS exercise will address real threats, such as North Korea’s growing missile threats, GPS jamming, cyberattacks, and various risks from land, sea, and air. The exercise will also take into account recent patterns of warfare.

The officials emphasized that “the South Korea-U.S. alliance will enhance its response capabilities and readiness against any provocations with multi-domain operations utilizing various assets with a focus on countering North Korea’s mass destruction weapons.”

The Joint Chiefs of Staff also emphasized that the military will enhance national defense capabilities to safeguard citizens by assisting government departments with wartime preparedness exercises and training against cyberattacks and terrorism. The military will deploy about 19,000 personnel for this exercise and conduct 48 outdoor maneuver training sessions, including joint amphibious landings and integrated firepower drills.

South Korea’s military will deploy approximately 19,000 personnel for this exercise. It will include 48 outdoor maneuver training sessions, including joint amphibious landings and integrated firepower training.

During a briefing the day before, the Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Lee Sung Jun, said, “We have created training conditions that suit the operational environments of each unit and organized personnel at the discretion of the unit commanders.”

The South Korean government plans to assess its nuclear response capabilities through this exercise. This official stated, “As part of the UFS, we will conduct training to respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats,” adding that “the exercise will involve our regional responsibility units.”

The defense operation exercise against North Korea’s nuclear threats is separate from the U.S. joint UFS. Recently, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Paul J. LaCamera responded to a question during a webinar hosted by the Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS) regarding whether operational scenarios for North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons would be applied in this UFS exercise, saying, “No, it is not included in the scenarios.”

Lee highlighted the significance of the UFS, stating, “It is essential to maintain South Korea’s defense readiness in case of emergencies” and adding, “The South Korean military is maintaining a firm readiness to respond immediately, strongly, and decisively to various provocations.”