US scales back Korea drills but keeps trilateral 'Freedom Edge' on track for September

Even as the United States scaled back the joint South Korea-US exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield to signal openness to dialogue with North Korea, the trilateral US-South Korea-Japan multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge is proceeding as planned.

Maj. Chloe Morgan, a spokesperson for US Pacific Command, told Yonhap on Wednesday that the command "is working closely with the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Republic of Korea military to prepare for the regular implementation of Freedom Edge this year."

Morgan noted that strong trilateral cooperation among the three nations is entering its fourth year, adding that "this flagship multi-domain exercise will solidify our shared values, enhance interoperability, and further strengthen our defense partnerships to ensure peace and stability across the Pacific."

She added that further details about the exercise would be released at a later date.

The statement came in response to questions about whether the Donald Trump administration's decision to scale back Ulchi Freedom Shield would also apply to Freedom Edge, or whether the trilateral drill would proceed at its originally planned scale and scope.

The response was interpreted as a reaffirmation that the United States intends to continue Freedom Edge separately from the Ulchi Freedom Shield reduction, as part of its commitment to strengthening trilateral security cooperation.

Military authorities from the three countries are in the final stages of coordinating plans to hold this year's Freedom Edge next month.

Japan's Kyodo News, citing an announcement from US Forces Japan, also reported that Freedom Edge will be held from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11 — a five-day exercise, the same duration as last year.

US Forces Japan described the exercise as aimed at "strengthening cooperation for regional security, interoperability, and the defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The three countries agreed to hold regular multi-domain exercises at the 2023 Camp David trilateral summit and formally announced the Freedom Edge exercise at a trilateral defense ministers' meeting the following June. Morgan's reference to the "fourth year" is understood to be counted from the Camp David agreement.

Since then, the three nations have conducted three exercises in waters near the Korean Peninsula — in June and November 2024 and in September last year — covering maritime missile defense, air and air-defense operations, anti-submarine warfare, and cyber defense.

The shift from one-off maritime or aerial drills — such as search-and-rescue operations, missile warning exercises, and strategic bomber escorts — to regular multi-domain exercises has been seen as a landmark example of institutionalized trilateral security cooperation.

North Korea has pushed back against the exercise. Then-Korean Workers' Party Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Pak Jong-chon issued a statement last year denouncing Freedom Edge as "the most comprehensive and aggressive war exercise in scope, content and character."

Some analysts suggest that Washington's decision to press ahead with Freedom Edge, even while scaling back Ulchi Freedom Shield and extending gestures toward Pyongyang, may also reflect the exercise's role as a check on China.

When announcing last year's Freedom Edge, US Indo-Pacific Command — now Pacific Command — used language about "enhancing deterrence in the Asia-Pacific region by strengthening credible combat power within the First Island Chain."

The First Island Chain, running through Japan's Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines, is a strategic defensive concept designed to constrain China's access to the Pacific.