SEOUL, March 19 (AJP) - This year's joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States has concluded, military authorities from both countries said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said the annual exercise dubbed "Freedom Shield" (FS) was conducted under more realistic scenarios simulating full-scale war and other conflicts to prepare for contingencies on the Korean Peninsula "with a focus on maintaining a high level of combined readiness."
They also said the exercise which began on March 9 involving about 18,00 troops from both countries served as a key opportunity to assess combat readiness to prepare for the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.
During the exercise, USFK publicly showcased for the first time the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC), a mobile ground-based weapons system often compared to Israel's Iron Dome.
The exercise "demonstrates the strength of our alliance and our ability to train, build readiness, and operate seamlessly as one force," said U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson, who also serves as the commander of the CFC.
"No other alliance trains as we do from competition, to crisis, to conflict all with an eye to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. There is no substitute for training, there is no excuse for not being ready," he added.
JCS chief Jin Yong-sung also said the exercise "reaffirmed the common value of peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula shared between [South Korea] and U.S.," while elevating the allies' defense posture and combined operational capabilities to the "next level."
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