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SEOUL: South Korea and the United States will launch their annual large-scale military exercise this month to bolster readiness against North Korean threats, the allies said Thursday, in a move likely to irritate Pyongyang amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.
The exercise also comes against the backdrop of concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration could shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the US troop presence in South Korea and possibly move to reduce it as Washington puts more focus on China.
Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, following another set of drills in March, typically involves thousands of troops in computer-simulated command post training and combined field exercises.
The Aug. 18-28 exercise may trigger an angry reaction from North Korea, which calls the joint drills invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program.
Doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul’s calls to resume diplomacy aimed at winding down its weapons program, which derailed in 2019. The North has now made Russia the priority of its foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
About 18,000 South Korean troops will take part in this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Col. Lee Sung Joon, said during a joint briefing with US Forces Korea, which did not disclose the number of participating US troops.
Both Lee and US Forces Korea public affairs director Col. Ryan Donald downplayed speculation that South Korea’s new liberal government, led by President Lee Jae Myung, sought to downsize the exercise to create momentum for dialogue with Pyongyang, saying its scale is similar to previous years. However, Col. Lee said about half of the exercise’s originally planned 40 field training programs were postponed to September due to heat concerns.
The threat from North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs will be a key focus of the exercise, which will include training to deter North Korean nuclear use and respond to its missile attacks, Lee said.
The exercise will also incorporate lessons from recent conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the clash between Israel and Iran, and address threats from drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, Lee and Donald said.
“We look across the globe at the challenges we may face on the battlefield and incorporate that so we can challenge the participants in the exercise,” Donald said. “We are focused on ensuring the alliance is sustainable and credibly deters aggression from the DPRK and addresses the broader regional security challenges,” he said, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The announcement of the exercise came a week after the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed overtures by Lee Jae Myung’s government, saying that Seoul’s “blind trust” in its alliance with Washington and hostility toward Pyongyang make it no different from its hard-line conservative predecessor.
Kim Yo Jong later issued a separate statement dismissing the Trump administration’s intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization, suggesting that Pyongyang — now focused on expanding ties with Russia — sees little urgency in resuming talks with Seoul or Washington.
On the other side of Seoul’s security concerns is whether its alliance with Washington will see dramatic shifts during the second term of President Donald Trump, who has rattled allies and partners with tariff hikes and demands that they reduce their reliance on the US and spend more for their own defense.
Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Recent comments by key Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have also suggested a desire to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and roles of US forces in South Korea.
Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while US forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. During Thursday’s news conference, Donald did not provide a specific answer when asked whether US and South Korean troops during their combined exercise will train for any possible realignment of US troops to face broader regional threats.
The future of the alliance will possibly be a topic in a summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee, which is expected this month. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Lee’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, downplayed the possibility of significant changes to the US military presence in South Korea.
“We are talking with the United States, but there is no concern about the US forces in Korea. We believe that they will remain as such and their role will remain as of today,” he said.

BANGKOK: Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died on Thursday, the military said. He was 74.
He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Thursday morning, according to a statement from Myanmar’s military information office.
Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped actively carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing.
State media reported on Tuesday that he had been in critical condition and receiving intensive care since July 24 at a military hospital in Naypyitaw.
State media announced in July last year that Myint Swe was suffering from neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, which left him unable to carry out normal daily activities, including eating. A few days later, he authorized Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, to assume his presidential duties while he was on medical leave, the reports said.
Myint Swe became acting president on Feb. 1, 2021, after the military arrested former President Win Myint along with Myanmar’s top leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, when the army seized power.
Myint Swe, a member of a pro-military party, took over the presidency under the constitution because he held the post of first vice president. Legal experts questioned the legitimacy of the move because Win Myint neither stepped down from his post nor was incapacitated.
As acting president, Myint Swe chaired the National Defense and Security Council, which is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice is controlled by the military. The council operates as the country’s top decision-making body related to national security, with the authority to declare a state of emergency and oversee military and defense affairs.
Myint Swe’s appointment and acquiescence to the army’s demands allowed the council to be convened to declare a state of emergency and hand over power to Min Aung Hlaing, who led the army’s takeover.
During his time in office, Myint Swe could only perform the pro forma duties of his job, such as issuing decrees to renew the state of emergency, because Min Aung Hlaing controlled all government functions.
Myint Swe, a former general, was a close ally of Than Shwe, who led a previous military government but stepped down to allow the transition to a quasi-civilian government beginning in 2011.
Myint Swe was chief minister of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, under the quasi-civilian government between 2011 and 2016, and headed its regional military command for years under the previous military government, which stepped down in 2011. During Buddhist monk-led popular protests in 2007 known internationally as the Saffron Revolution, he took charge of restoring order after weeks of unrest in the city, overseeing a crackdown that killed dozens of people. Hundreds of others were arrested.
Though he did not have a prominent international profile, Myint Swe played a key role in the military and politics. In 2002, he participated in the arrest of family members of former dictator Ne Win, according to accounts in Myanmar media.
He also arrested former Gen. Khin Nyunt at Yangon Airport during a 2004 purge of the former prime minister and his supporters that involved a power struggle inside the military. Soon afterward, Myint Swe took command of the sprawling military intelligence apparatus that had been Khin Nyunt’s power base.
Myint Swe was among military leaders sanctioned by the US Treasury Department following the military takeover and arrest of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians in February 2021.
He was survived by his wife and two children.