▲ Jang Do-young, Director of Public Affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ryan Donald, Director of Public Affairs for U.S. Forces Korea, hold a joint briefing on the 2026 Freedom Shield (FS) exercise plan at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on February 25.
South Korea and the United States will hold the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, a regular joint military drill for defending the Korean Peninsula in contingencies, from August 17 to 27.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced the schedule for this year's UFS exercise on the 10th, stating that it is a "routine and defensive exercise conducted by South Korea and the U.S."
The allies stated that this year's UFS exercise scenario reflects realistic situations, such as recent lessons learned from wartime operations, and will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the alliance's combined defense posture, including "all-domain joint and combined operations."
They also noted that it will "serve as an opportunity to continuously promote preparations for the wartime Operational Control (OPCON) transfer based on the conditions agreed upon by South Korea and the U.S."
The South Korean government aims to complete the Full Operational Capability (FOC) verification of the future Combined Forces Command—which will command the ROK-U.S. combined wartime operations after the OPCON transfer—at the South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) this fall.
The plan is for the defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. to recommend the "Target Year"—the target year for the OPCON transfer—to the leaders of both countries upon approving the FOC verification results.
The South Korean and U.S. military authorities conduct command post exercises (CPX) named Freedom Shield every March and the UFS exercise every August. The FS and UFS exercises, assuming an all-out war on the Korean Peninsula, also serve as an opportunity to evaluate and verify whether the conditions for the OPCON transfer have been met.
It is known that some joint evaluations by South Korea and the U.S. under the condition-based OPCON transfer plan will also be conducted during this UFS exercise.
Along with this, through evaluations to be conducted prior to the SCM, it will be determined whether South Korea has achieved a certain level of capability, ultimately pushing for the completion of the FOC verification.
However, this joint press release did not directly mention the FOC verification.
An exercise in which a South Korean four-star general assumes the role of the future CFC commander will also not be conducted during this UFS period.
Regarding this, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "We are in close consultations with the U.S. side to periodically conduct combined exercises led by the future CFC commanded by a South Korean four-star general, and we will review the implementation timing following this year's FOC verification."
During this UFS exercise period, South Korea and the U.S. will also conduct field training exercises (FTX) named Warrior Shield linked with the command post exercise scenario to enhance practical execution and combat readiness.
During this UFS period, South Korea and the U.S. reportedly plan to integrate and conduct 14 joint field training exercises at the battalion level or higher.
During last year's UFS period, there were 17 joint field training exercises at the battalion level or higher and a total of 22 at the company level or higher.
While the previous administration concentrated ROK-U.S. joint FTXs during the FS and UFS periods, the Lee Jae-myung administration has tended to distribute FTXs throughout the year.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff explained, "Joint field training exercises are being integrated at the battalion level or higher and conducted in a balanced manner throughout the year. To this end, the joint field training exercises were closely discussed between South Korea and the U.S. from the planning stage and will be conducted focusing on essential training linked to the exercise scenario."
In addition, the allies stated that this exercise will "enhance the pan-governmental capability to execute total war by supporting government agencies' wartime readiness exercises and actual drills to establish a national emergency preparedness posture and secure the lives and safety of the people."
Meanwhile, the United Nations Command is also having member states participate in this exercise, with the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission observing compliance with the Armistice Agreement.
According to UNC officials and others, 12 member states (including the U.S.) will dispatch around 70 additional personnel to this year's UFS, a level similar to previous years.
UNC Deputy Commander Stuart Winkler recently met with reporters and said, "We have a great deal of interest in how the United Nations Command can contribute in new domains such as information, cyber, and space."
(Photo: Joint Press Corps, Yonhap News)
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