ROK-U.S. Combined Military Exercises carried out to Maintain Peace on the Korean Peninsula

The Cold War is long over, but the two Koreas are still technically in a state of war.

Although the Armistice Agreement, which was signed in July 1953, is still effective,
it stands on thin legs. In March 2010, North Korea sank the ROKS Cheonan with a torpedo in South Korean territorial waters in the West Sea.

In November of the same year, it bombarded Yeonpyeong Island,
also in the West Sea, killing both servicemen and civilians.
It was the first instance of civilian casualties caused by enemy fire since the 1953 Armistice Agreement.

North Korea has also carried out nuclear tests on three occasions.
In an effort to counter North Korea’s continued provocations,
the ROK-U.S. combined forces has carried out a military exercise known as Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) every August.

However, it should be noted that this exercise is a defense-oriented command post exercise that uses computer-assisted simulation,
not a maneuvering exercise involving real combat units.

Necessity and Importance of the ROK-U.S. Combined Exercise Every year,
North Korea has denounced this defense-oriented combined exercise,
calling it an “exercise for a war of aggression.”

After considering the origin and purpose of the annual exercise, it becomes clear that the North’s response is absurd.

The original exercise was first established in response to a cross-border surprise attack launched by
North Korea in June 1950 and frequent military provocations after the Armistice Agreement went into effect.

Following the signing of the Armistice Agreement in July 1953,
the United Nations Command (UNC) began to carry out an annual defense-oriented military exercise named Focus Lens, s
tarting in 1954, under the resolution of the UN Security Council.

However, North Korea did not stop its illegal military provocations.

In January 1968, a special North Korean commando unit attempted to attack Cheong Wa Dae, the South’s Presidential Residence in Seoul,
and assassinate South Korean President. Alarmed by such an extreme act of provocation,
the ROK government drew up an emergency plan and carried out the
Taegeuk exercise to prepare the nation to defend against a surprise attack from
the North.

This exercise was replaced by the Ulchi exercise, participated in by all central government agencies, in 1969.

In August 1976, North Korean forces perpetrated yet another provocation,
the barbaric killing of two U.S. Army officers with an axe at Panmunjeom,
the Joint Security Area.

These aggressive actions caused the ROK to implement the military-led
Focus Lens and the government-led Ulchi exercises in order to establish an all-out defense posture
in response to North Korea’s escalating aggression.

In 2008, the two exercises were replaced with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise in connection with
the ongoing discussion on the return of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea.

What needs to be stressed here is that such exercises would not have been needed in the first place
if North Korea had not first started the war and then continued its military provocations in the post-war period.

A very serious problem is that under the leadership of its new, young dictator,
Kim Jung-un, North Korea will not stop short of creating serious threats,
such as the sinking of a South Korean naval ship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.

Rather, North Korea has committed itself to developing its asymmetric warfare capabilities,
which is evident in its continued test-launches of ballistic missiles and announcements of plans for conducting a “new form” of nuclear test.

Also, North Korea has not concealed its ambition of communizing the entire Korean Peninsula.

It is a well-known fact that Kim Jung-un declared the years 2013 and 2015 as the “Year of Completing Preparations to Fight”
and the “Year of Preparing for a Great War of Unification,” respectively.

Recently, Kim Jung-un has been committing unpredictable acts one after another,
and it is becoming increasingly likely that he will miscalculate the situation,
as he has removed many of his close aides who once helped him make sensible decisions.

In the event that war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula under such circumstances,
there is no guarantee that such a conflict would be confined to the two Koreas.

Thus, it is necessary to demonstrate the commitment and capability of the ROK-U.S. combined forces in order to
deter North Korea’s aggression and maintain peace in Northeast Asia.

This shows that the UFG exercise is not only limited to testing relevant operational plans,
but that it serves reaffirming the two allies’ commitment to the security of South Korea and deterring the North.

Content of 2014 UFG Exercise
The purpose of the UFG exercise in 2014 (August 11-21) is to improve the crisis management,
wartime readiness, and operational capabilities of the ROK-U.S. combined forces.

The main focus of this year’s exercise is a detailed simulation intended to strengthen the combined forces’ crisis
management capability in the event of a major military provocation by the North.

The exercise is designed to test the capability of the ROK JCS, which holds peacetime operational control and independently
response to provocations by North Korea, and the transition process to the ROK-U.S. joint response system in the event of
a serious provocation by the North.

Through this exercise, the ROK-U.S. combined forces become familiar with the consultation procedures for crisis management
and joint measures for crisis de-escalation.

The UFG exercise also covers the transition to a wartime system in the event of a serious escalation of the situation or
miscalculation committed by the North that risks all-out war, despite the joint crisis management efforts of
the ROK-U.S. combined forces, and prepares the forces to defend a war of aggression by the North.

The UFG exercise is by no means an exercise for an armed occupation of the North.

It is an exercise carried out in response to North Korean provocations and to prepare for a potential war caused by North Korea’s aggression,
as the exercise plan shows.

Germany was a unified country for a relatively short period of time,
only 75 years between 1871 (unification under Otto von Bismarck) and 1945.

However, it accomplished a peaceful reunification in the postwar period through sheer will and commitment.

After the end of the Cold War and Germany’s unification and recovery,
the EU could finally be established as a perpetual system of peace.

Likewise, the peaceful unification of the two Koreas could lead to the creation of a system of sustainable peace in Northeast Asia.

However, the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula is only possible
 if the North abandons its WMDs, including its nuclear weapons, and gives up its ambition to initiate a war of aggression.

Therefore, the ROK-U.S. combined military exercises will continue to be carried out to maintain peace on
the Korean Peninsula until the North abandons its goal of communizing the entire Korean Peninsula through war.

By LT G Kim, Yeoung Min
Chief Director of Directorate for Strategic Planning
ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff