The 10-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, involves 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training.

The drills will be conducted by integrating real-world threats, including lessons learned from recent wars, into the training scenarios. South Korea and the US both emphasized that the main objective of the drill remains unchanged—to respond to external threats to security on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement last week, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies’ stance of “military confrontation” with the North and declared that its forces would be ready to counteract “any provocation going beyond the boundary line.”