Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The Defense Ministry conducted Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), a defensive drill designed to counter North Korea’s infiltration, from Monday, August 19, to Thursday, August 22.

To establish a warfighting system, war dispersion and mobility training was conducted for all personnel organized under a specific plan on Friday, August 9. Prior to this training, essential government employees participated in an emergency call drill on August 14 to enhance their ability to carry out individual war missions.

The Defense Ministry has refined an integrated, all-government procedure for establishing a comprehensive security posture, uniting civilians, the government, and the military under various crisis scenarios, including North Korean infiltration into the gray zone and multiple military provocations. This approach was discussed at the central integrated defense meeting last January.

To address misinformation, the Defense Ministry held its first cooperation meeting of related institutions* on methods to counter wartime misinformation on August 20.

* National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Communications Commission, etc.

This discussion was prompted by the growing importance of responding to disinformation during wartime and the recognized need to integrate the efforts of government ministries in this process, as highlighted by recent conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas armed conflict.

The meeting focused on the roles and cooperation systems of relevant government ministries and institutions necessary for verifying false information about the wartime activities of the ROK-U.S. alliance and for quickly disseminating accurate information to citizens and the international community.

Participants agreed that the meeting provided a crucial opportunity to establish a foundation for inter-governmental cooperation systems to effectively counter disinformation.

Before the start of the third UFS exercise since the current administration took office, President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized the importance of strengthening the readiness posture to counter gray zone provocations, such as the spread of false information.

Additionally, the Vice Defense Minister hosted a meeting on August 21 to discuss follow-up measures in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack. The meeting was attended by representatives from 11 government agencies and military units, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the ROK CBR Defense Command, and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Medical Command.

The meeting reviewed the military's response plans in the event of a nuclear weapons attack by North Korea and discussed the support capabilities and methods of the CBR and medical units. The participants also emphasized the need to expand inter-governmental follow-up capabilities after a nuclear attack.

The Defense Ministry participated in a joint civilian, government, and military cyber exercise to maintain a cooperative system for sharing information with related institutions in the event of cyber threats. The exercise aimed to strengthen the response to enemy cyber attacks on key national facilities, thereby contributing to the establishment of a unified national-level cyber threat response system.

The military also conducted anti-terrorism training at public facilities to develop integrated protection capabilities. This training, held at Seoul Olympic Park, included scenarios involving North Korean drone terrorism and explosives detection, with the participation of 340 officials from 10 related civilian, government, and military institutions, as well as the police and fire department.

The training was conducted in response to various assumed terrorist scenarios, including attacks using unidentified drones, explosions, fires in public facilities, and hostage crises. The aim was to establish a robust anti-terrorism posture for public facilities, particularly in light of recent provocations by North Korea in Seoul, the capital city of the Republic of Korea.

This training was instrumental in developing an effective integrated protection posture by evaluating the capabilities of various national defense elements and reviewing cooperation systems among related agencies.

The combined field maneuver exercises under the UFS were conducted on the ground, at sea, and in the air, with the number of exercises significantly increasing from 38 last year to 48 this year. This demonstrated a strong ROK-U.S. Alliance and reinforced the interoperability and real-world warfighting capabilities of the alliance, with participation from soldiers of UNC member states.

Notably, the combined operations capabilities were greatly enhanced by significantly increasing the number of brigade-level exercises, such as the Army’s combined air assault and assault operation training and the Air Force’s combined air-to-air live fire and air-to-ground bombing exercises, from four last year to 17 this year.

Defense Minister Shin Won Sik commented on the 2024 UFS exercise, stating, “Our military must maintain overwhelming capabilities and posture to protect the lives and property of our people from the North’s provocations and infiltration. With this exercise, the total warfighting capabilities of the entire government will be strengthened.”

The ROK/U.S. combined military exercises will continue even after the conclusion of the government drills, running through Thursday, August 29, with new scenarios and phases.