US, South Korea, Japan to begin Freedom Edge trilateral drills Sept. 7

Exercise follows Trump-ordered curtailment of Ulchi Freedom Shield

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Friday that the United States, South Korea and Japan will begin their annual Freedom Edge trilateral military exercise on September 7, with the multi-domain drills running through September 11 in international waters east and south of Jeju Island.

“This exercise is a defensive exercise conducted annually by the three nations to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and to safeguard regional peace and stability,” the JCS said in a message to reporters.

U.S. Forces Japan said this year’s iteration represents the allies’ “most advanced trilateral cooperation to date.” Freedom Edge 26 will “significantly expand trilateral interoperability across multiple domains,” according to a USFJ statement, with “enhanced real-time data sharing and synchronized coordination among all three nations to defend against evolving regional threats.”

The exercise will include multinational maritime and aviation capabilities, enhanced air defense scenarios, medical evacuation training and maritime interdiction operations, USFJ said.

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump last week ordered Seoul and Washington to cut short their joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, citing its cost and saying the drills sent an “inappropriate and hostile” signal to Pyongyang. The allies subsequently shortened the exercise by almost a week.

North Korea routinely denounces joint military drills as rehearsals for an invasion and has carried out weapons tests around major allied exercises. Pyongyang last year called Freedom Edge “the most comprehensive and offensive war drill for aggression in its scale, content and nature.”

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said last week that Pyongyang had “no interest” in the reduction of U.S.-South Korea drills. On Thursday, North Korea condemned U.S. approval of a possible $125 million sale of Sidewinder missiles and related equipment to South Korea, warning of a “serious, immediate and powerful response.”

Freedom Edge emerged from a trilateral summit at Camp David in August 2023, when the then-leaders of the three countries agreed to expand security cooperation. The first Freedom Edge exercise was held in June 2024.