"The United States and the Republic of Korea today concluded Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 24, building combined readiness and strengthening the combined defense posture. Conducted from Aug. 19-29, UFS 24 reflected a range of realistic threats across all domains, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's missile capabilities, GPS jamming, and cyber-attacks, along with lessons learned from recent conflicts," USFK said in a statement.
Some 19,000 South Korean troops participated in a major command and staff exercise based on computer modeling of a full-scale war scenario, the statement said.
The military also took part in 48 field training exercises, such as amphibious landings and live-fire drills, up from 38 conducted last year.
For the first time this year, the exercise included a scenario simulating a North Korean nuclear attack. The drills also involved civil defense exercises. The South Korean Defense Ministry also held its first-ever meeting with relevant agencies to respond to wartime disinformation, amid growing concerns about the threat of hybrid warfare.
North Korea has condemned the UFS exercises as the most offensive and provocative military drills aimed at carrying out aggression. However, South Korea and the US describe the exercises as defensive in nature.