South Korean and U.S. military authorities are reportedly at odds over the first-half annual joint exercise "Freedom Shield (FS)."
According to military sources on the 22nd, the two countries' militaries have postponed the joint Korea-U.S. briefing on FS that was scheduled for the 25th of this month. A military source said, "The announcement was delayed due to coordination issues regarding field maneuver exercises," adding, "The Korean side wants to minimize field maneuver exercises, while the U.S. side is showing reluctance."
South Korean military authorities are pushing to reduce field maneuver exercises further from the original plan, in line with a policy to distribute Korea-U.S. combined field maneuver exercises throughout the year rather than concentrating them during the FS period. This appears to take into account North Korea's strong opposition to FS exercises, particularly large-scale field maneuver exercises involving massive troop movements. However, the U.S. military maintains this would be difficult since some reinforcement troops and equipment have already arrived in Korea to participate in the field maneuver exercises. The two militaries plan to hold a joint briefing on the FS exercise at the end of this month or early next month after coordinating their positions.
Differences between the South Korean government and U.S. Forces Korea have been observed repeatedly in recent days. The U.S. military side has shown reluctance regarding the DMZ Act and discussions on re-establishing no-fly zones in inter-Korean border areas, both of which are being deliberated with inter-Korean relations in mind.
The FS exercise is a theater-level combined exercise of a defensive nature that assumes a full-scale war scenario on the Korean Peninsula. It is typically conducted every March, with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff's public affairs director and the public affairs directors of U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command, and Combined Forces Command holding a joint briefing ahead of the exercise to announce the training period, scale, and field maneuver exercise plans.