US, South Korea launch key springtime military drill

The US and South Korea launched a major annual joint springtime military exercise Monday, with the number of planned field training drills cut sharply compared with last year, local media reported.

The Freedom Shield exercise, which will run through March 19, is aimed at strengthening the two allies' combined defense posture, Yonhap News Agency reported.

This year's drill, in which 18,000 troops are expected to participate, will be focused on assessing conditions to achieve the transfer of wartime operational control from the US to South Korea.

Seoul has been seeking to achieve the "conditions-based" handover of wartime command from Washington within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term, which ends in 2030.

The allies plan to conduct 22 field training drills during this year's exercise compared with 51 on-field drills staged last year under the government of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The move comes as South Korea seeks to create "favorable grounds" for possible dialogue between North Korea and the US ahead of President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to China from March 31 to April 2.

Pyongyang has long denounced South Korea and the US's combined military exercises as "rehearsals for invasion."