South Korea, US to stage annual drills focusing on Korea nuclear threats

South Korea and the United States will begin their annual spring military drills next week with a focus on heading off North Korea’s potential use of nuclear weapons, officials said on Wednesday. The Freedom Shield exercises, set for March 4-14, come as North Korea continues to test missiles and other weapons systems and develop its nuclear capabilities, and will be first since Pyongyang scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military pact in November. There will be 48 rounds of combined field training, including air assault and air strikes, participated by twice the number of troops from both sides compared with last year, said Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.