U.S. Denies North Korea’s Invasion Claims: What You Need to Know About the Ulchi Freedom Shield

The U.S. immediately opposed North Korea’s accusation that the joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), are preparations for an invasion.

According to a briefing document released by the U.S. Department of Defense yesterday, Ryder stated that the question “North Korea accused this exercise of being aimed at invading North Korea. How will you react?” is patently false.

Ryder explained, “As you know, these exercises are defensive. They’re also longstanding, and these are opportunities for our forces to work together on interoperability and to learn how to operate in dissimilar environments.”

Commenting on the joint statement issued last week by the leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to commemorate the first anniversary of the Camp David Declaration, Ryder emphasized, “I think our alliance with Japan and South Korea are stronger than they’ve ever been. And I think going into the future, you’ll see them continue to get even stronger.“