On September 19, 2025, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reiterated that his inter-Korean policy would rest upon three principles: to respect North Korea’s system, not to seek unification through absorption, and not to commit hostile acts. But how do these words align with deeds?
The drills included training aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of missile defense, and exercises in air defense, medical evacuation, and maritime interdiction operations.
Notably, Freedom Edge follows the large-scale 10-day joint South Korean and U.S. military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), which we have already covered. These are the first drills of the kind since President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump took office, but the third round of trilateral exercises after the previous rounds held in June and November 2024.
South Korean media noted a reduction in the scale of the exercises, which, unlike the previous rounds, were conducted without the participation of a U.S. aircraft carrier. While the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt joined the first exercises, and the second round saw the USS George Washington participating, this time no carrier was involved. The official reason given was the workload of the carrier strike groups redeployed to the Middle East. Unofficially, it was attributed to the attempts of Seoul and Washington to revive the dialogue with Pyongyang.
North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong called the U.S. maneuvers a “reckless display of force” and warned that such actions “will inevitably bring unpleasant repercussions onto its organizers.” “We will consider it as a blatant manifestation of a confrontational course against our republic and a continuation of belligerent policy”.
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea Pak Jong-chon has also spoken out harshly, having issued a press statement “We will continue to exercise sovereignty in a responsible manner to make the enemy states realize that their war drills are a meaningless waste of strength.” He pinpoints that exercises represent “an undisguised nuclear war rehearsal.” “If the hostile forces persist in their muscle-flexing, we will respond to them in a clearer and more intensified way.”
“Iron Mace”
Between September 15 and 19, 2025, the United States and the Republic of Korea conducted the combined command and staff exercise “Iron Mace” at the headquarters of the U.S. Armed Forces contingent in Pyeongtaek, which has the U.S. Eighth Army at its core.
The exercises included “simulating a full-scale nuclear war under the pretext of responding to the use of similar weapons by the DPRK.” The war imitation was conducted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Strategic Commands of the two countries.
These are the third “Iron Mace” exercises since their inception under the guidelines of the Nuclear Consultative Group, adopted following the summit talks between former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former U.S. President Joe Biden in April 2023, and the first such exercises to take place under Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump, although both have called on North Korea to resume dialogue.
According to the statement made by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on a related note, “The U.S.-led hostile forces are desperately resorting to the strengthening of the military cooperation on the assumption that nuclear weapons would be used, posing a serious threat to the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region”.
Kim Yo Jong has also published a press statement: “I remind them that the show of strength in the wrong place will inevitably bring bad results to themselves”.
Chinese media echoed Kim Yo Jong’s thesis that the U.S., Japan, and South Korea had chosen the wrong place for a display of force against the DPRK, taking risks that will definitely evoke unpleasant consequences. The North Korean armed forces are fulfilling an all-important task – deterring war and protecting the country’s sovereignty.
“Super Garuda Shield”
From August 25 to September 5, 20 South Korean marines made their debut in the multinational military drills Super Garuda Shield, held in the West Java (Jawa Barat) region of Indonesia. This was the first time when South Korean marines took part in the regular exercises conducted jointly by the U.S. and Indonesia. According to the ROK Marine Corps headquarters, the personnel, including special reconnaissance units, have participated in a series of drills aimed at practicing amphibious landing skills, as well as combat operations in urban and jungle environments. The Super Garuda Shield exercises began in 2007 to enhance the operational capabilities of the U.S. and Indonesia. Since then, they have evolved into large-scale multinational drills. This year, the drills have seen more than six thousand troops from 13 countries participating.
“Resolute Dragon”
Since September 11, unprecedented large-scale U.S.-Japan maneuvers, “Resolute Dragon,” have been taking place in Japan, with a large contingent and brand-new military equipment involved.
And in October 2025, the U.S., together with Japan and the ROK, will hold the second meeting since the start of the year of the “nuclear advisory group,” where the three countries will probably concentrate on drawing up a “plan for the use of nuclear weapons in case of a war in the Indo-Pacific”.
On September 24, 2025, the U.S. Marine Corps said it staged live-fire drills near the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea, marking the second such exercise under the Lee Jae Myung administration. The drills, with K9 self-propelled howitzers firing around 170 rounds into surrounding waters, were held on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which is the de facto maritime border. North Korea has never recognized the NLL, demanding it be shifted further south.
Meeting of M. Rubio with Takeshi Iwaya and Cho Hyun
Furthermore, New York has hosted a meeting of the foreign ministers of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. There, M. Rubio, Takeshi Iwaya, and Cho Hyun have highlighted how crucial the trilateral cooperation is for strengthening peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The sides have reiterated their commitment to the principle of complete denuclearization of the DPRK (although the ROK Foreign Ministry press release changed the wording to “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”), the necessity of a joint response to Pyongyang’s missile-nuclear programs, and strengthening the sanctions regime against the North.
Moreover, the allies have also voiced their “serious concern” regarding military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, as well as the destructive activities of North Korean IT specialists in cyberspace.
Summing up. Populist statements are one thing; actions are another. As a columnist for the conservative JoongAng Ilbo said after Lee’s trip to the U.S., “If I turned off the screen and only listened to the audio recording, I would mistakenly think that former President Yoon Suk Yeol was meeting with President Donald Trump. The synchronization with the conservative government’s stance was so complete that it seemed as if I was hearing the same voice.”
Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, leading research fellow at the Centre for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences
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