South Korea said it will conduct a joint military exercise with the United States and Japan from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of Jeju Island. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Freedom Edge exercise is aimed at responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats while maintaining regional peace and stability.

Yonhap reported that the multi-domain drill may include maritime missile defense, air and air-defense exercises, anti-submarine operations and cyber defense activities. Freedom Edge was first held in June 2024 after an agreement among the three countries’ leaders at the 2023 Camp David summit.

The announcement follows US moves to reduce or cancel other joint exercises with South Korea. President Donald Trump ordered the regular Ulchi Freedom Shield drill shortened from 11 days to five days, while another biennial exercise, Ssangyong, was canceled amid pressure on US deployment capacity due to the war with Iran. North Korea has launched missiles and criticized the reduced drills and other US-related measures.