From March 10 to March 20, 2025, South Korea and the United States are conducting the annual spring exercise Freedom Shield, which will continue until March 20.
The programme includes both command post exercises with computer modelling and 16 types of field manoeuvres. About 19,000 ROK military personnel were involved in the exercises. These were the first large-scale allied exercises since Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the United States, demonstrating that U.S. policy towards North Korea remains unchanged for now.
Staying the Course?
It is worth noting that the U.S. and ROK conduct joint exercises every spring and autumn. Their names and scales may vary, but they invariably trigger a “seasonal escalation” of inter-Korean tensions. North Korea perceives these drills as rehearsals for invasion, responding with threatening statements and missile launches.
The exercises took place amid concerns that the U.S.-ROK alliance might weaken under the new U.S. president. Donald Trump had previously criticized joint exercises as costly “war games.” In the context of U.S. attempts to improve relations with North Korea, Seoul and Washington had either suspended or reduced the scale of major exercises.
In this regard, on February 25, 2025, South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang Mok, stated that the joint spring military exercises of South Korea and the United States are “based on a strong alliance and the joint defense posture of our two countries,” as national security “is an absolute priority that must never be compromised.”
What Was Practiced in the Exercises?
Officially, the goal of the exercises was “to practice countering various security threats, including nuclear attacks, through the use of land, sea, air, and space assets.” Observers from 12 United Nations Command member states, as well as the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission for the Korean Armistice Agreement, monitored the drills.
The exercise program included
- The seizure of a vessel carrying weapons of mass destruction, involving naval special forces;
- Joint airborne training conducted very close to the border;
- A series of “counterterrorism exercises,” essentially counter-sabotage drills;
- Training for infiltrating North Korean territory to destroy a nuclear facility;
- Elements of “Operational Plan 2022,” which involves a preemptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear arsenal;
- For the first time, the ROK Ministry of Defense planned to test GeDAI, a generative AI for defense.
Thus, one could agree with North Korea’s KCNA statement: “No matter how hostile states try to label large-scale military exercises against a sovereign state as ‘annual’ and ‘defensive,’ they cannot conceal their inherently offensive and confrontational nature.”
North Korea and Russia’s Reactions
North Korea responded with a series of missile launches and harsh rhetoric. In a KCNA statement published on March 7, it was noted that “the military madness” of Seoul and Washington is escalating tensions to an “extremely dangerous level.” “The recklessness of South Korea and the U.S. will require us to take justifiable self-defense measures,” and ROK and the U.S. “will pay a terrible price.” Kim Yo Jong, deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, called the Freedom Shield exercises “a demonstration of military power and provocation.” She pointed out that “no country would remain indifferent to an exponentially growing threat to its security, considering it ‘defensive.’ If the U.S. continues setting new records in demonstrating military force, we will have to break records in deploying strategic deterrence forces.”
Criticizing the drills, KCNA highlighted key points:
- The number of brigade-level joint field maneuvers was seven times higher than last year; Sixteen large-scale exercises were conducted this year, compared to ten last year;
- The number of cutting-edge weapon systems has increased, and in addition to traditional branches of the armed forces, this time the U.S. Space Force is participating in the exercises. In January 2025, they had already conducted drills against the North together with the Republic of Korea’s Air Force.
Moscow has also expressed concern. As Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated, “We are closely monitoring the evolving situation with alarm. Unfortunately, there is a persistent trend toward rising tensions, including due to the ongoing military maneuvers of the U.S. and the Republic of Korea… And, of course, we consider Pyongyang’s measures aimed at strengthening its own defense capabilities, countering external security threats, and protecting its sovereignty to be fully justified.”
South Korea’s Ministry of Defense responded as best it could: “Pyongyang’s criticism of the deployment of American strategic weapons in South Korea as part of extended deterrence commitments, as well as the joint ROK-U.S. exercises, is nothing more than an attempt to justify its nuclear weapons development and create a pretext for provocations.” The ministry added, “The only path to survival that Pyongyang can choose is to abandon its obsession with nuclear weapons.”
A Link in the Chain
It would be a mistake to assume that Freedom Shield is the only U.S.-ROK exercise since the beginning of the year. While these drills stand out due to their scale, military training is ongoing. It is also worth noting how many of these exercises take place near the border.
- In early February 2025, large-scale live-fire drills were conducted near the inter-Korean border, involving about 2,000 troops—including soldiers from the 2nd Rapid Response Infantry Division, the 15th Infantry Division, the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, as well as the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and the ROK-U.S. Combined Division. More than 150 pieces of military equipment participated, including South Korean K1A2 tanks, K21 infantry fighting vehicles, and American Stryker armored personnel carriers. Troops from both countries practiced tactical coordination, including close air support, air assault operations, and overcoming complex mine and engineering obstacles.
- On February 19, Marine Corps units and the Northwest Islands Defense Command conducted artillery live-fire drills on Yeonpyeongdo and Baengnyeongdo islands in the Yellow Sea. Around 30 K-9 self-propelled howitzers fired approximately 250 shells into the southwestern waters. The stated objective was to maintain the necessary level of combat readiness.
- On February 20, joint air exercises were conducted with the stated goals of improving operational interoperability and demonstrating the allies’ enhanced capabilities in countering North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. The maneuvers involved U.S. F-16 fighter jets and a B-1B strategic bomber, while the South Korean side deployed F-35A and F-15K fighter jets.
- From February 25 to 27, the new operational fleet command of the South Korean Navy held its first large-scale maritime exercise. Nine surface ships, including the destroyer Sejong the Great, one submarine, and 13 aircraft participated. The drills focused on anti-submarine warfare using advanced technologies and tactics. Additionally, the destroyer conducted a training session to detect and track a simulated North Korean ballistic missile.
- The South Korean Navy also took part in the multinational Sea Dragon exercises off the coast of Guam, aimed at improving airborne anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
- On March 6, large-scale joint air and ground live-fire exercises took place near the North Korean border, involving tanks, armored vehicles, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and reconnaissance drones.
The facts speak for themselves: the intensity of training is extremely high, compelling the North to respond, despite shortages of fuel and spare parts preventing it from conducting exercises on a similar scale.
Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, Leading research fellow at the Center for Korean Studies, Institute of China and Modern Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences
