South Korea and the United States ended the Freedom Shield 2024 joint exercise on Thursday, March 14th. Personnel from twelve other nations that make up the United Nations Command also participated in the exercise.
The exercise began on March 4th with the objective of improving both countries’ “combined defense posture” with a focus on multi-domain operations and countering the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons. The two countries also conducted at least 48 field exercises of various types during the exercise.
North Korea responded to the exercise by conducting various training exercises involving artillery, tanks, and Special Forces along the DMZ and the Norther Limit Line. The country also responded by releasing statements that condemned the exercise, saying that South Korea and the United States were rehearsing to invade North Korea and that they would “pay a dear price.”
However, the country did not conduct any provocative military actions, such as launches of long-range ballistic missiles.
