[Edaily Reporter kim kwanyong ] South Korea and the United States will conduct the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” (hereinafter UFS) exercise, their regular joint military drill for the second half of the year, from the 17th to the 27th. During this exercise, a joint South Korea-U.S. assessment will be conducted to determine whether the conditions necessary for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) have been met. Given that the government has set a goal of deciding the timing of the OPCON transfer at this fall’s Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), this UFS exercise is expected to serve as a major turning point for the future transfer schedule.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced this during a joint briefing on the 10th. Approximately 18,000 South Korean troops will participate, a scale similar to previous years.

Through this exercise, South Korea and the U.S. will hone their capabilities to conduct combined and joint operations across all domains, incorporating lessons learned from recent wars and reflecting realistic threat scenarios. In particular, the exercise will include responses to threats that have emerged on the modern battlefield, such as the combat experience of North Korean troops deployed in the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as threats involving drones, cyberattacks, and Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming.

Ryan Donald, Director of Public Affairs for U.S. Forces Korea, explained, “It is a reality that the capabilities of the North Korean military are changing following its deployment to the war in Ukraine,” adding that the exercise includes responses to potential threats from North Korean forces, as well as cyber and drone attacks.

A particularly noteworthy aspect is the transfer of operational control (OPCON). During this UFS exercise, South Korea and the U.S. will conduct a joint evaluation based on criteria agreed upon by both nations, in accordance with the OPCON transfer plan. As part of this and other evaluations to be conducted prior to the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), they will determine whether the South Korean military has achieved a certain level of capability and decide whether the Full Operational Capability (FOC) verification has been completed.

The capability assessment for the OPCON transfer proceeds in three phases: Initial Operational Capability (IOC), Full Operational Capability (FOC), and Full Mission Capability (FMC). The government is pursuing a plan to complete the FOC verification this year; following approval of the results by the South Korean and U.S. defense ministers at the fall SCM, it will recommend the target year for the OPCON transfer to the military commanders-in-chief of both nations.

Jang Do-young, Director of Public Affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated, “We will conduct a joint ROK-U.S. evaluation based on mutually agreed-upon criteria during this exercise as well,” adding, “If the criteria are met, we believe we will be able to propose the verification of FOC for the Future Combined Forces Command and the timing of the transfer at the SCM.”

However, this UFS will not include a Future Combined Forces Command-led exercise in which a four-star general from the ROK military assumes the role of Future Combined Forces Command commander to lead the combined forces. The Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that they conducted a Future Combined Forces Command FOC evaluation in 2022 under the command of a four-star ROK general and received an excellent evaluation from both South Korean and U.S. military authorities; they stated that they will review the timing for conducting Future Combined Forces Command-led combined exercises following this year’s FOC verification.

South Korea and the U.S. will also conduct the “Warrior Shield” (WS) Field Training Exercise (FTX) in conjunction with the UFS Command Post Exercise (CPX). A total of 14 combined FTXs at the battalion level or higher are scheduled during the UFS period. This is a reduction from the 17 battalion-level or higher exercises held during last year’s UFS. Last year, a total of 22 exercises were conducted when company-level and higher exercises were included.

Military officials explained that this is not a reduction in joint training but rather a change resulting from the year-round distribution of FTXs. Unlike in the past, when field training exercises were concentrated during the FS and UFS periods, this year joint FTXs at the battalion level and above are being conducted in a balanced manner throughout the year.

Member nations of the United Nations Command (UNC) will also participate in this year’s UFS. Twelve member nations, including the United States, are scheduled to dispatch approximately 70 additional personnel, and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) will verify compliance with the Armistice Agreement throughout the exercise.

South Korea and the United States plan to support wartime preparedness exercises and actual training by government agencies to assess not only military readiness but also the nation’s ability to wage total war at the whole-of-government level.