South Korea, US, Japan to expand trilateral Freedom Edge military drills

The top military leaders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan have agreed to expand their trilateral multi-domain military exercise, Freedom Edge, during upcoming talks aimed at strengthening security cooperation amid escalating North Korean military provocations.

On July 10, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo met with his US counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, in Seoul ahead of the trilateral meeting with Japanese Chief of Staff Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida scheduled for July 11 at the South Korean JCS headquarters. Officials said the talks will focus on enhancing joint readiness and coordinating responses to growing North Korean threats, Caliber.Az reports per Yonhap. 

The three military leaders last convened in Tokyo last year, where they collectively condemned North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs and its expanding military ties with Russia. The decision to broaden the Freedom Edge exercises signals a deepening commitment to joint deterrence efforts in the region.

Caine’s visit marks the first by the highest-ranking US military officer to South Korea since Gen. CQ Brown’s visit in November 2023 and comes amid Washington’s calls for allies to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. It also coincides with ongoing US assessments of troop deployments in the Indo-Pacific, including the potential reshaping of US Forces Korea.

While defence cost-sharing talks are expected to be part of the discussions, officials emphasized that strengthening the alliance and sharing intelligence on North Korea’s military movements remain top priorities.

Bilateral talks between Kim and Yoshida on the sidelines also underscored the need for enhanced security cooperation in the face of regional challenges.

By Sabina Mammadli