WNAM REPORT: South Korea, the United States and Japan wrapped up their trilateral multidomain Freedom Edge exercise Friday, the South’s military said, in a display of joint efforts to better deter and respond to North Korea’s provocations.
The three-day exercise held in international waters south of South Korea’s southern island of Jeju encompassed an array of training meant to enhance the three sides’ interoperability across domains including air, maritime, underwater and cyber, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The latest drills, held four months after the inaugural exercise in late June, mobilized various warships and aircraft, including the U.S. Navy’s USS George Washington aircraft carrier as well as F-35 stealth fighters, the South’s ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong destroyer and Japan’s JS Haguro destroyer.
It marked the first time that F-35 stealth fighters from South Korea and the U.S., capable of covertly entering North Korea and conducting precision strikes against key facilities, were mobilized for the exercise, according to the JCS.
“The training was conducted with an aim to defend peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the region amid growing security threats, such as the North’s recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and deepening military cooperation with Russia,” the JCS said.
The North launched the new Hwasong-19 ICBM on Oct. 31 and called it the “ultimate” version of its long-range missile series. The missile reached the highest altitude and flew for the longest time.
The JCS said the three sides will continue to regularly hold the trilateral multidomain exercise going forward.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit at Camp David in August last year and agreed to hold “annual, named, multidomain” trilateral exercises on a regular basis against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
The exercise takes its name from key bilateral exercises the U.S. holds with the Asian neighbors — Freedom Shield with South Korea and Keen Edge with Japan.
