ROK-US ‘Shield of Freedom’ 12 UN forces participating across the Korean Peninsula, North Korea ‘Seoul Artillery Training’
Twelve UN member countries participated in the ROK-US joint ‘Shield of Freedom’ exercise, and in response, North Korea attempted the ‘Seoul Surprise Artillery Training’.
The ROK-US joint 'Shield of Freedom' training will be held from the 4th to the 14th, with 48 large-scale outdoor training exercises (FTX), more than double last year, including joint tactical live fire, air-to-air live fire, air-to-ground bombing, and air assault throughout the Korean Peninsula. This is implemented.
The Voice of America (VOA) announced on the 7th that 12 UN Command member countries, including Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom, participated in this ‘Shield of Freedom’ exercise.
North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said, "This training, in which Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, guided the military's artillery training on the 7th, was reportedly conducted in anticipation of a surprise attack on Seoul." Kim Jong-un went to the camp and encouraged the soldiers, saying, "We will strengthen the artillery's power." “So that we can take the initiative with a merciless and rapid attack,” Yomiuri announced on the 9th.
U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Martin Maynes said on the 6th, “Shield of Freedom is a defense exercise designed to prepare for a variety of potential threats and strengthen readiness,” adding, “The main goals are to strengthen the U.S.-ROK alliance, increase combined defense posture, and ensure security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” “It is to promote,” he told VOA.
A State Department spokesperson commented on the 5th, saying, “The U.S.-ROK joint military exercises are purely defensive in nature and have been ongoing for a long time, and are intended to maintain military readiness and preserve regional security.” .
On the 5th, the North Korean Ministry of Defense said in a statement through a spokesperson, “The United States and the Republic of Korea have once again initiated provocative large-scale joint military exercises that amplify the unpredictability of the situation in the area under armistice,” adding, “Even a single spark could ignite a nuclear war.” VOA revealed that he claimed that “the Korean Peninsula is a region where conditions are mature” and that “large-scale war exercises carried out in collusion between the world’s largest nuclear power and about 10 follower countries can never be said to be ‘defensive.’”
David Maxwell, vice president of the Asia-Pacific Strategy Center (former chief of staff for operations at the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command), said on the 6th, “North Korea’s military response is expected after the U.S.-ROK joint training ends,” and added, “We are concerned that it will engage in physical and violent provocations such as the attack on the Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. “I do,” he told VOA.
Vice Representative Maxwell continued, “When joint U.S.-ROK joint exercises are in progress, a higher readiness posture is maintained than usual,” and “North Korea is likely to wait until the training is over before carrying out provocations.”
Sidney Siler, former national intelligence analyst for North Korea at the U.S. National Intelligence Committee (NIC), said, “It is highly likely that North Korea will increase its demonstrations of force and missile launches in response to the joint U.S.-South Korea joint exercises.” He added, “North Korea’s threatening rhetoric and threats will continue in the coming months.” “It is expected that this will increase, and more voices will come out saying, ‘North Korea is showing off its nuclear capabilities, so let’s comply with their demands,’” he told VOA.