S. Korea, US to hold tabletop exercise on integrating conventional, nuclear capabilities next week

This photo shows South Korean and U.S. troops staging maritime infiltration training in Taean County, South Chungcheong Province, Aug. 28. Courtesy of the Republic of Korea Army

South Korea and the United States plan to stage a tabletop military exercise next week on integrating their conventional and nuclear capabilities in a bid to better deter North Korean threats, military sources said Friday.

The Iron Mace exercise is scheduled to take place from Sept. 15-19 at the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, according to the sources.

It would mark the third such drills since August 2024 and April, and the first one to be held under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

The tabletop exercise involves jointly operating Washington's nuclear assets and Seoul's conventional capabilities in an effort to strengthen America's extended deterrence commitment in the face of North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

The allies have staged the Iron Mace exercise under the Nuclear Consultative Group guidelines adopted following summit talks between former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former U.S. President Joe Biden in April 2023.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the USFK declined to confirm details about the planned exercise.