August 29, 2024, the Republic of Korea and the United States completed the annual joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which took place over 11 days, starting on August 19. The author’s concern remained without confirmation, but a summary is, nevertheless, needed.
Most notable elements of the exercises
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the ROK Armed Forces, about 19,000 South Korean servicemen were involved in the main command and staff exercises, which took place in the computer simulation format. Their participants practiced repelling threats from North Korean missiles, jamming GPS signals and cyberattacks, although repelling a nuclear attack by North Korea was not practiced this time. 48 field exercises were held, including artillery firing, amphibious landings and working out joint actions of the air and naval forces. In addition, the South Korean Strategic Command, which is planned to be established in the second half of the year, was examined. Civil defence exercises were also held with the participation of government officials, where for the first time a scenario simulating a nuclear attack by North Korea was used.
Now let us talk about the manoeuvres that attracted the most attention and allow us to get an idea of what happened during the exercises in general. Moreover, after the official closure of the exercises, relevant events lasted at least another week.
From August 26 to September 7, units of the Navy and Marine Corps of South Korea and the United States conducted joint Ssangyong amphibious landing exercises (both sea and air). They involved about 40 ships (including Dokdo and Marado landing ships, frigates, minesweepers, etc.), about 40 aircraft (including F-35B fighters, Marineon helicopters, etc.) and 40 KAAV landing vehicles.
The exercises were important in several ways. Firstly, the command for unmanned operations of the ROK Armed Forces, established in September 2023, which was responsible for reconnaissance and surveillance via drones, was involved in them for the first time. Secondly, for the first time, the joint headquarters group of the US and ROK Marine Corps led the amphibious assault exercises from the Marado ship. In addition, commandos of the Royal Marines of Great Britain participated in the exercises for the second year in a row.
On August 26, South Korea and the United States began joint live-fire air exercises and separate three-day exercises involving about 60 military aircraft, including South Korean F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, as well as US A-10 attack aircraft. The actions and measures of aviation response to the launch of cruise missiles and the fire of long-range artillery of the DPRK were considered. The F-35A and F-15K fired AIM-120 C medium-range air-to-air missiles to neutralise aerial targets, while the KF-16 and US A-10 aircraft used GBU-31 joint direct-impact ammunition, which can penetrate 1-metre-thick reinforced concrete, to destroy sources of enemy provocations.
From August 27 to 29, the rescue unit of the ROK Naval Forces conducted exercises in the area of Geojedo Island. 250 servicemen practiced assisting victims of marine disasters, as well as participation in joint rescue operations with the naval forces. The exercises involved the submarine rescue ship ‘Cheonghejin’, the surface rescue ship ‘Tongyong’, the UH-60 helicopter and a deep-sea diving unit.
Also, on August 29, the ROK and the United States completed the 7th round of negotiations on determining Seoul’s share in the costs of deploying the US armed forces on the Korean Peninsula. According to the head of the US delegation, Linda Specht, the parties “have made significant progress in reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable”. According to the South Korean delegation, the parties held “intensive and in-depth consultations to achieve significant progress in key areas of mutual interest”. Seoul insists on an agreement that will determine its share of costs at a “reasonable level” and the United States is interested in a “mutually acceptable” deal. The current agreement expires at the end of 2025.
On September 5, units of the South Korean Marine Corps stationed on the north-western islands of Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo conducted live-fire exercises. They involved K-9 self-propelled guns the K 239 Chunmoo MLRS, which fired a total of about 390 shells in SW direction (i.e. not towards the DPRK).
On September 6, South Korea and Germany held joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea. The frigates Incheon and Baden-Württemberg took part in the exercises. A German warship entered the waters near the Korean Peninsula to take part in operations to monitor UN sanctions against North Korea.
Reaction from the North
As for the DPRK’s reaction, according to the Korea Times newspaper, North Korea has shown noticeable restraint. Experts from ROK attribute this to severe flooding, which in mid-July caused significant damage to agricultural land and led to the displacement of about 15,000 people, which prompted the authorities to focus on recovery after natural disasters.
Nevertheless, on August 24, various types of drones were tested at the Research Institute for the Development of UAVs at the Academy of Defence Science of the DPRK. Kim Jong Un personally observed this. Then he made a speech in which he spoke about the need to actively develop and increase production of all types of UAVs, paying special attention to the development of kamikaze drones. We will devote a separate material to this point in the context of how the North and South study the Special Military Operation experience and build drones.
On August 27, in North Korea, in the presence of Kim Jong Un, tests of updated 240mm MLRS were conducted, which will begin to enter service in the Korean People’s Army this year. As the KCNA news agency reported, “the control and verification firing confirmed the superiority of the MLRS, which have been updated, in all indicators, including the guidance system, controllability and destructive power”. In ROK, the news was met with ‘assumptions’ that the new artillery system could be provided to Russia for use during its military operations.
On September 5, the head of the press service of the DPRK Ministry of Defence issued a press statement under the headline “Provocateurs can never evade the heavy responsibility for escalating tension”, criticising the exercises. “The provocative anti-republican military exercises of the United States and the Republic of Korea, which have been continuously conducted right in front of our nose since the beginning of this year, clearly show what causes the aggravation of the situation and destabilisation of security on the Korean peninsula”. This “once again confirms that it is the continuous strengthening of our state’s defence capability and its offensive use that is the only way to neutralise the danger of US and ROK military exercises and control instability in the region”. However, the KPA “will never allow military outrages by the United States and the ROK that threaten security on the Korean peninsula” and hostile forces will have to pay dearly for their provocative actions.
At this point, the annual surge in tension usually subsides, but in the context of the new reality, this is not necessarily the case.
Konstantin ASMOLOV, Candidate of Historical Sciences, leading researcher at the Centre for Korean studies, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the RAS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
