US and South Korea begin military exercises to strengthen their defense against North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — On Monday, American and South Korean troops began a large-scale exercise to strengthen their joint defense capabilities against the nuclear power North Korea. The country again accused its allies of preparing an invasion.

The annual summer exercise comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula as both the pace of North Korean weapons demonstrations and joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises have intensified in a cycle of mutual encounters.

The drill began hours after North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement reiterating the North's claim that such drills were “provocative war exercises for aggression.” It said the North's nuclear ambitions were therefore justified, adding that it was crucial to “constantly maintain the balance of power to prevent war by stockpiling the greatest possible deterrence.”

The United States and South Korea have described their joint exercises as defensive in nature and have expanded and enhanced their training in recent years to meet evolving threats from the North.

The US and South Korean military did not immediately respond to the North Korean Foreign Ministry's statement.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which will last for 11 days until August 29, include both computer-simulated war games and more than 40 different field exercises, including live-fire exercises. The allies said this year's program focuses on improving their preparedness against various North Korean threats, including missiles, GPS jammers and cyberattacks, and will also take into account lessons learned from recent armed conflicts.

About 19,000 South Korean military personnel will take part in the exercises, which will run Monday through Thursday in parallel with civil defense and evacuation drills and include programs based on North Korean nuclear attack scenarios.

The U.S. military has not confirmed the number of American troops participating in the drills, nor said whether U.S. strategic units will be involved. The United States has increased its regional deployment of long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carrier battle groups in recent months to train with South Korean and Japanese forces.

The exercises could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which boasts about its growing weapons program and verbally threatens Washington and Seoul with nuclear strikes.

Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a major ceremony in the capital Pyongyang to hand over 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to front-line units and called for a continued expansion of his army's nuclear program.

The incident heightened concerns about Kim's weapons program, as he demonstrated an intention to deploy nuclear warheads along the North Korean border and claimed his military could respond with preemptive nuclear strikes if it perceived the leadership to be threatened.

Analysts say Kim may want to increase pressure in a US election year to pursue his long-term goals: forcing Washington to become a nuclear power and negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

During the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises last year, North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests that it described as simulating a “scorched earth” nuclear strike on South Korean targets.

In recent weeks, the North has also launched thousands of balloons filled with garbage toward the South as part of a psychological warfare campaign, further worsening relations between the war-torn rivals.