Seoul to maintain major allied drills as Brunson calls for year-round training

Seoul’s military says it will maintain its two major annual exercises with Washington while continuing joint training throughout the year, following a call by the top U.S. commander in South Korea for more consistent training.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the allies are “flexibly conducting and developing a balanced year-round training system while firmly maintaining their regular combined exercises in both halves of the year.”

Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said at an American Chamber of Commerce in Korea event on Wednesday that he had met JCS Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung to discuss the upcoming Freedom Shield exercise.

“We can’t hinge our readiness on two exercises a year,” Brunson said. “It’s got to be training throughout the entirety of the year where we continue to shape ourselves to meet the objective set forward for us by our national command authorities.”

The allies hold Freedom Shield in March and Ulchi Freedom Shield in August, both large-scale exercises centered on command-post operations. They also conduct smaller combined field drills throughout the year.

Brunson previously advocated spreading training across the peninsula to avoid making allied forces easy targets. At a U.S. Army conference in Washington on Oct. 12, he suggested training between the two major exercises and operating in a more dispersed fashion, drawing lessons from the war in Ukraine.

Asked to clarify Brunson’s latest remarks, USFK said it had no separate official statement and requested that his comments be taken as stated, describing them as a continuation of views he had expressed previously.

It remains unclear whether his remarks will lead to changes in the frequency, locations or content of existing exercises.

A military official said no specific new training arrangements had been decided. The official said changes to exercise scenarios based on North Korea’s experience in Russia’s war against Ukraine would first require a clearer assessment of Pyongyang’s evolving capabilities.

Shin Jong-woo, secretary-general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said the content of training matters as much as its frequency. Allied troops need to practice countering drones, concealing troops and equipment from aerial surveillance, and restoring communications disrupted by electronic warfare, he said.

“How can we respond to a changing battlefield if North Korea is changing but the objectives and content of our training remain the same?” Shin said.

“When communications are cut, troops also need to practice connecting a backup line and restoring them quickly,” he added.

Retired Lt. Gen. Chun In-bum, a former commander of the Army’s Special Warfare Command, cautioned against interpreting Brunson’s comments simply as a call for more exercises or changes in troop deployments.

“What Brunson meant was adjusting things so that readiness is maintained properly throughout the year,” Chun said. He also questioned whether the Korean military would be willing to carry out more demanding training arrangements.

Leif-Eric Easley, professor of International Studies at Ewha Womans University, said Pyongyang was gaining combat experience and feedback from Russia on improving its weapons, threatening advantages long held by Seoul.

“This threatens to erode South Korea’s technological and training advantages, meaning Seoul should plan more diverse and frequent defense exercises with the U.S. and Japan,” Easley said.

However, Washington’s political direction could complicate any expansion. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the reduction of August’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise from 11 days to five, raising questions about whether additional drills would have White House backing.

Sean King, an Asia-focused analyst at Park Strategies, said Brunson appeared at odds with Trump’s approach.

“General Brunson appears to be out of step with President Trump here, as the president’s own recent pronouncements and actions demonstrate he wants fewer U.S.-ROK military exercises (not more),” King said.

“And why would Seoul commit to any reimagined, expanded exercises if it now knows Trump may well again curtail, or cancel, them on a seeming whim?” he added.