South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea.
Read full article: Neighbors rally to support Nocatee family after 3-year-old drowns in retention pondWalking testimony: Orange Park man completes 3rd cross-country trek on inspiring journey from addiction to advocacySouth Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield or UFS, between the U.
S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The banners read"Stop the military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield or UFS, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The banners read"Stop the military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield or UFS, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The banners read"Stop the military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield or UFS, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The banners read"Stop the military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea." – South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to “any provocation” against its territory.The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies’ exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program. In a statement last week, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies’ stance of “military confrontation” with the North and declared that its forces would be ready to counteract “any provocation going beyond the boundary line.”in Washington. Trump has raised concerns in Seoul that he may upend the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the American troop presence in South Korea and possibly reducing it as Washington shifts its focus more toward China. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high as North Korea has brushed aside Lee’s calls to resume diplomacy with its war-divided rival, with relations having soured in recent years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerated his weapons program and Seoul’s previous conservative government responded to North Korean threats by expanding military exercises with the United States and seeking stronger U.S. assurances for nuclear deterrence, drawing an angry reaction from Kim, who last year renounced long-term reconciliation goals and rewrote the North’s constitution to label the South a permanent enemy.designed to reduce border tensions and called for North Korea to respond to the South’s efforts to rebuild trust and revive talks. The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between South Korea’s former liberal President Moon Jae-in and Kim, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes.and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea had already declared it would no longer abide by the agreement. When asked whether the Lee government’s steps to restore the agreement would affect the allies’ drills, the South’s Defense Ministry said Monday that there are no immediate plans to suspend live-fire training near the Koreas’ disputed maritime border. While the allies have postponed half of Ulchi Freedom Shield’s originally planned 44 field training programs to September, U.S. military officials denied South Korean media speculation that the scaled-back drills were meant to make room for diplomacy with the North, citing heat concerns and flood damage to some training fields. Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Public comments by senior Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have suggested a push to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and role of U.S. forces in South Korea. Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while U.S. forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. In a recent meeting with reporters, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, stressed the need to “modernize” the alliance to address the evolving security environment, including North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, its deepening alignment with Russia, and what he called Chinese threats to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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