US preparing trilateral military drills with South Korea, Japan

The US is preparing to conduct a trilateral military exercise with South Korea and Japan, the US Pacific Command said Wednesday, signaling that the drills remain on track despite the recent scaling back of a separate joint exercise between the US and South Korea.

"In close coordination with the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, US Pacific Command is preparing for the 2026 iteration of exercise Freedom Edge," command spokesperson Lt Cmdr Chloe Morgan told Yonhap News Agency by email.

Morgan said the multi-domain exercise would strengthen interoperability and defense cooperation among the three countries but declined to disclose its timing, scope or scale.

Freedom Edge emerged from an August 2023 Camp David summit as part of efforts to institutionalize trilateral security cooperation. Previous iterations were held in June and November 2024 and September 2025.

Questions over this year's exercise followed US President Donald Trump's instruction to reduce the duration and scale of the bilateral Ulchi Freedom Shield drills with South Korea. Trump said large-scale exercises could send an "inappropriate and hostile" message to North Korea as he seeks renewed dialogue with leader Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang rejects claims that the drills are defensive, describing them as rehearsals for an invasion and warning of intensified countermeasures.