Freedom Shield rift: South Korea, US at odds over war games’ scale

Every spring, South Korea and the United States stage one of their largest combined military exercises in a show of force that North Korea invariably denounces as a rehearsal for war.This year, Seoul wants to dial them back, wagering that smaller drills could open a diplomatic door that has been shut since 2019.A joint press briefing on the Freedom Shield exercise that had been scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed amid differences over the scope of the drills, according to Yonhap News Agency, citing military sources.Seoul has reportedly suggested paring back the large-scale troop and equipment deployments that Pyongyang finds particularly provocative and spreading combined field training across the year rather than concentrating it in a single high-profile period.But US officials are said to find the proposed cuts difficult to accept as additional American troops and equipment have already been deployed at considerable cost, based on plans locked in a year ago.South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back (right) shakes hands with the commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Patrick Hannifin, last month. Photo: South Korean Defence Ministry/EPAA spokesman for South Korea’s defence ministry insisted the exercise would still go ahead as planned and said coordination on the drills was ongoing.