Tension is high around the Korean peninsula. South Korea and the United States began their largest joint military maneuvers in five years on Monday, despite threats from North Korea.
Washington and Seoul have stepped up defense cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from Pyongyang, which has stepped up weapons tests in recent months. The "Freedom Shield" exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces, which are expected to last at least ten days, will focus on "the changing security environment" due to North Korea's increased aggressiveness, the allies said.
Simulated strikes on North Korea
In a rare move, the South Korean military revealed in early March that Washington and Seoul's special forces would hold "Teak Knife" military maneuvers — which simulate precision strikes on key facilities in North Korea — before "Freedom Shield."
All these exercises arouse the ire of Pyongyang, which sees them as dress rehearsals for an invasion of its territory or the overthrow of its regime, while justifying its own nuclear and ballistic weapons programs by the need to defend itself. To show its displeasure, North Korea launched two cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday, North Korea's KCNA news agency reported.
Washington has repeatedly reaffirmed its "unwavering" commitment to defending South Korea using "the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear" and recently sought to reassure Seoul of their expanded deterrence capability to their allies. South Korea, which does not possess nuclear weapons, remains officially committed to non-proliferation, even as calls are growing at the national level for the country to obtain its own nuclear weapons.
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