Yoon stresses decisive strength as S. Korea, US kick off annual military drills

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrive for a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed the need to defend the nation's freedom and prosperity through decisive strength rather than words, as South Korean and U.S. troops commenced the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, Monday.

Speaking during an Ulchi National Security Council (NSC) meeting in the morning, Yoon stated that the country "must be prepared to respond forcefully to any provocation from North Korea and that we must firmly protect our freedom and prosperity with decisive strength, not just words," according to the presidential office.

Highlighting North Korea’s ongoing threat due to its advancing nuclear capabilities and recent trash-filled balloon launches toward the South, Yoon strongly emphasized that the UFS drills should be utilized to thoroughly evaluate the nation's defense posture and demonstrate the strength of the enduring South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is a 10-day exercise running through Aug. 29 and consisting of two parts. The first part, from Monday to Friday, involves both the military and government, while the second part, from Aug. 26 to 29, is a military exercise only.

The military exercise will include major combined drills with the United States, focusing on an all-out war scenario and featuring a computer simulation-based command post exercise alongside concurrent field training.

In a Cabinet meeting held shortly after the NSC session, Yoon reiterated that the North Korean regime remains fixated on developing nuclear weapons and missiles, despite the dire living conditions of its people.

"Recently, they have not hesitated to engage in unconventional provocations such as GPS jamming attacks and the release of trash-filled balloons. As we have seen in the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East, war can break out at any time," he said.

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are seen at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday.

Yoon also warned that, in the early stages of a conflict, North Korea might mobilize "anti-state forces" within South Korean society to incite unrest and create public confusion through its propaganda tactics.

"We must actively seek ways to prevent such confusion and division and to raise the will of the entire population to resist," he stated.

For the first time, the government-led Ulchi civil defense drill will simulate a North Korean nuclear attack, although the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise will not include such a scenario, according to military officials. As part of UFS, a nationwide civil defense evacuation drill is planned for Thursday.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), this year's military exercise will be similar in scale to the previous year, involving around 19,000 South Korean troops and some member states of the United Nations Command.

In addition, there will be a notable increase in field training exercises (FTX), with 48 events planned, including amphibious landings and live-fire drills, up from 38 last year. The number of brigade-level exercises will also increase to 17, compared to just four last year.

U.S. strategic assets may be deployed during joint military drills in a demonstration of the South Korea-U.S. military alliance. The U.S. military has not confirmed whether the drills will involve any of its strategic assets, but during last year's event, several U.S. B-1B strategic bombers were deployed for a combined aerial exercise with South Korean FA-50 fighters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gives a speech during his visit to flood-affected regions in North Pyongan Province in this photo carried by the North's state media Korean Central News Agency, Friday. Yonhap

Pyongyang, which has reacted angrily to past UFS exercises, issued a similar response to this year's event.

In a statement carried by Rodong Sinmun (a North Korean newspaper), Monday, the Institute for American Studies of the North Korean foreign ministry condemned the Ulchi exercise as a "rehearsal for invasion" and the "most offensive war drills in the region."

"We will continue to make efforts to bolster strong defense capabilities for credibly defending our state sovereignty, security, interests and territorial integrity and change the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the region in our favor," the statement read.

Observers suggest that North Korea may stage military provocations in the coming days in response to the exercise. During last year’s UFS, the reclusive regime fired several ballistic missiles, which it claimed as a tactical nuclear strike drill simulating "scorched-earth" strikes against major command centers in South Korea.

"As mentioned the statement released by Rodong Sinmun, the North may showcase their 'defense capabilities' in response to our exercise," said Yang Moo-jin, president at the University of North Korean Studies. "But given that the regime appears to be grappling with flood rehabilitation efforts, the provocations may be limited to short-range missile launches, rather than long-range ones."