Extended containment policy: what are the goals of the US in the joint Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea

On Monday, March 13, the United States and South Korea will begin joint military exercises Freedom Shield, which will be held on the territory of the republic, according to a message on the website of the US Marine Corps.

The training will last 11 days and will combine computer simulation "with the involvement of real forces and means."

“On March 13, 2023, the Command of the Joint Forces of the Republic of Korea and the United States will begin the Freedom Shield exercise (“Freedom Shield.”

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The word "freedom" in the title indicates a strong desire to protect freedom as an indispensable value of the alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States, and the "shield" indicates the defensive nature of the maneuvers, ”the US Marine Corps website reports.

The drills will be based, among other things, on lessons "learned from current and ongoing conflicts" to improve the combat readiness of individual units and overall defense capabilities, and ostensibly to "strengthen security and stability" in the Korean Peninsula and throughout North Korea. - East Asia.

“Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, the US Armed Forces in Korea, the UN Command, formations subordinate to the Command of the Joint Forces of the Republic of Korea and the United States, as well as reservists, civilian personnel and representatives of the UN sending states will take part in the maneuvers,” the press service of the corps informs.

Simultaneously with Freedom Shield, a series of combined field exercises under the general name Warrior Shield FTX (“Warrior Shield”) will be held on the Korean Peninsula. 

“The goal of the Warrior Shield FTX exercise is to further strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the US Armed Forces through air, ground, sea, space, special operations and operations in cyberspace, as well as improve tactics, techniques and procedures,” the message says.

The US-South Korea alliance continues to be on high alert and maintain a "robust common defense strategy," according to the US Marine Corps.

"Freedom Shield 23 is a fresh example of this kind of preparation and unwavering commitment to upholding and protecting the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea from any threat or adversary," the statement said.

• US military in South Korea

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• © KIM Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket

More than 20 exercises will take place during the Freedom Shield, including amphibious maneuvers and special operations training, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

According to journalists, Freedom Shield will be the largest US and South Korean military exercises in the past five years, aimed at strengthening the defense capabilities of the two countries, taking into account the changing security environment and the "aggression" of the DPRK.

It is worth noting that at the end of January, Seoul and Washington agreed to expand the program of joint military exercises, including to contain the DPRK.

We are talking about expanding the American presence in the region and delivering F-22, F-35 fighter jets and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers there.

In addition, the Pentagon did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons to protect South Korea.

After the announcement of plans to conduct joint maneuvers between the United States and the Republic of Korea, the North Korean leadership announced that Pyongyang would take practical military deterrence measures in response to "provocations by the United States and South Korea", which "came to the red line."

This is stated in the message of the North Korean news agency KCNA.

However, details of military containment measures are not given.

Earlier, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister for International Organization Affairs Kim Sung-kyung said that Washington and Seoul are "extremely tense" on the Korean Peninsula by their actions, and called on the UN to demand an immediate end to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which increase tension on the peninsula. 

Another aggravation of the situation

Recall that at the end of February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK issued a statement that the continuation of provocations by the United States against the republic could be regarded by Pyongyang as a declaration of war.

The department explained that in order to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the United States should refuse to deploy strategic assets and military exercises directed against the DPRK with South Korea.

However, despite Pyongyang's warning, Washington and Seoul conducted joint air maneuvers last week involving US F-16s and a B1-B heavy bomber, as well as South Korean F-35A and F-15K fighters.

This is reported by the Yonhap agency, noting that the exercises were organized in response to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea.

• USA and South Korea flags

• AP

• © Lee Jin-man

Recall, according to the Central News Agency of Korea, on February 19, the DPRK launched the Hwaseong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which flew 989 km in 4015 seconds and reached an altitude of 5768.5 km.

As noted in the message, the missile "successfully hit a mock target in the Sea of ​​Japan." 

"Similar tricks"

According to RISS expert Sergei Ermakov, the United States, when planning military exercises with South Korea, is actually pursuing two global goals at once, not stated in official documents.

“Due to such maneuvers, firstly, a political task is solved - a signal is given to the DPRK so that the republic does not relax and continues to participate in the arms race with South Korea.

In addition, a number of military goals are set: these are not only private installations for combat coordination and operational interaction, but also a more global task - preparation for a possible escalation of the situation in the region, which the United States itself is constantly exacerbating due to the militarization of South Korea, ”- said the analyst in an RT comment.

At the same time, Yermakov believes that the program of the Freedom Shield exercises indicates similar techniques that are being practiced by the military within NATO.

“The experience of the alliance, in fact, is transferred and projected onto the Asia-Pacific region,” the expert noted.

According to Ermakov, after the active phase of the Freedom Shield exercises, North Korea should at least expect a diplomatic indication of its tough position regarding such maneuvers near the DPRK.

“Whether the North Korean authorities will carry out demonstrative military actions in response to these exercises is difficult to predict.

However, Pyongyang definitely has such opportunities.

Another thing is whether they want to spend forces and means on this, ”Ermakov noted.

In turn, as Yevgeny Kim, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained, through the Freedom Shield exercises, the United States and South Korea want to encourage the DPRK to “spend more on military purposes” as part of their extended deterrence policy.

“The tactic of Washington and Seoul is to bankrupt Pyongyang through an arms race.

And the leadership of the DPRK is doing absolutely the right thing, which often reacts not too impulsively to these maneuvers.

In addition, Pyongyang does not want such an aggravation of relations that could lead to an accident in the region.

However, the United States and South Korea are unlikely to think about this, which will most likely imitate the possibility of delivering strikes on the DPRK during training, ”the expert said.

• Army of the DPRK

• AP

• © Ng Han Guan

At the same time, no one should have any doubts that against the background of the escalation of the situation, North Korea will be able to strike at US military facilities in the region, Kim is sure.

“For example, according to the US bases.

North Korea, as a carrier of nuclear weapons, will not have any difficulty in taking such very serious measures.

However, we are talking about the medium and long term.

While North Korea is focused on accumulating forces and means: the republic does not intend to succumb to the provocations of the United States and South Korea and rush headlong into a military adventure, ”the expert concluded.