Seoul: South Korea, the United States, and Japan are preparing to conduct their multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise in September, sources disclosed on Thursday. This initiative aims to sustain trilateral security cooperation among the three nations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the top military leaders from South Korea, the United States, and Japan are scheduled to deliberate on the exercise plans during their Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters on Friday. If the plans are finalized, this will be the third iteration of the exercise, focusing on enhancing interoperability across various domains such as air, maritime, underwater, and cyber. This collaboration is part of joint efforts to improve deterrence and response capabilities against provocations from North Korea.
The Freedom Edge exercise takes its name from key bilateral exercises conducted by the United States with its Asian allies-Freedom Shield with South Korea and Keen Edge with Japan. The inaugural exercise commenced in June last year, followed by a second round in November. Besides the exercise, the military leaders are also expected to address security cooperation and threats posed by North Korea during Friday's meeting. The meeting will include South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo, along with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Gen. Dan Caine and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, respectively.