An annual military exercise, dubbed Freedom Shield, began on Monday as the United States and South Korea seek to boost their deterrence against North Korean threats, Yonhap reported.
The exercise will last for 11 days, supposedly raising Seoul's concerns over Pyongyang's reactions to the military drills, as the country has been known to protest them via missile launches in the past. North Korea had repeatedly denounced US-South Korean military cooperation as preparations for the invasion of the country, even though Washington and Seoul insist the drills are entirely defensive in nature.
The militaries of the two allied countries stated that the drills would "focus on multi-domain operations by utilizing land, sea, air, cyber and space assets, and countering the North's nuclear operations," the news agency reported.
