South Korea and the US to conduct Freedom Shield military drills in March

By Kyu-seok Shim and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, Feb 25 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States will conduct major joint military drills known as Freedom Shield from March 9 to 19, military officials from the countries said on Wednesday.

The annual exercise is "defensive in nature", officials said at a briefing, though the designation has not prevented it from being a frequent flashpoint with North Korea, which has long denounced the drills as a rehearsal for invasion.

The exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for the transfer of U.S. wartime operational control to South Korea, they said.

Past drills, including last year's iteration, featured multi-domain and command-post training aimed at supporting this readiness.

South Korea aims to complete the handover of military command from the U.S. before President Lee Jae Myung's term ends in 2030.

South Korean and U.S. officials said the exercise by the allies next month would incorporate deterrence scenarios related to North Korea's nuclear weapons.

President Lee has sought to improve strained ties with North Korea, though those efforts have so far been rebuffed by Pyongyang.

South Korean media previously reported that Seoul had proposed scaling back field training exercises during Freedom Shield to support this outreach, but that it was met with U.S. resistance.

Talks on adjusting the field drills are still ongoing and will continue up to the last minute, officials told Reuters.

North Korea is currently holding the ruling Workers' Party's Ninth Congress, the biggest political event in its calendar, which analysts say may conclude with a military parade in Pyongyang to showcase its latest military capabilities.