Military Readiness Must Be Free From Political Considerations

Controversy surrounds the decision to reduce field maneuver exercises involving actual troop movements to 40% of last year's level during the Freedom Shield (FS) exercise starting March 9 between South Korea and the United States.

Critics point out that while the government aims to achieve wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer within President Lee Jae-myung's term—requiring fulfillment of OPCON transfer conditions through theater-level combined exercises like the annual FS—the administration is undermining its own objective.

During last year's FS exercise under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, 51 combined field maneuver exercises at company level or above were conducted. This year, only 22 are planned. Large-scale combined field maneuver exercises at brigade level or above numbered 13 last year but will total just 6 this year.

Voices inside and outside the military emphasize that South Korean forces currently lack sufficient capability to assume OPCON. Moreover, commanding U.S. forces—which possess overwhelmingly superior capabilities—in a contingency requires more combined training, not less. The government's actions contradict its stated goal of early OPCON transfer.

Training is the lifeblood of any military. Forces that reduce or skip training struggle to execute missions in contingencies.

Most critically, the Trump administration's new National Defense Strategy states that "South Korea must bear primary responsibility for defending against North Korea's conventional force threats." This signals intent to redirect U.S. Forces Korea toward countering China rather than deterring North Korea. Despite this, the government is cutting exercises.

Analysis suggests this aims to avoid provoking North Korea ahead of inter-Korean dialogue. Yet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has rejected the government's conciliatory overtures and expressed hostility.

At the 9th Party Congress, Kim declared South Korea "a thorough hostile state, a permanent enemy." He even warned that "the possibility of South Korea's complete collapse cannot be ruled out" in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

North Korean military operational capabilities are assessed to have significantly improved through combat experience in Ukraine. Even as the government pursues various measures for inter-Korean dialogue, military readiness must be maintained through continuous training—free from political considerations.