S. Korea, US, Japan to hold joint military drill despite N. Korean warning

South Korea, the United States and Japan will proceed with their annual multidomain military exercise next week despite North Korea's warning of a "hard-line" response, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.

The three countries are scheduled to conduct Freedom Edge from Sept. 7-11 in waters southeast of Jeju Island, according to the South Korean military.

Jang Do-young, a Navy captain and spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there had been no change to the exercise plan despite Pyongyang's latest remarks.

"This exercise is an annual defensive drill conducted by South Korea, the United States and Japan to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and safeguard peace and stability in the region," Jang told reporters Wednesday.

"There have been no changes to the plan so far," he said when asked whether the United States was considering scaling back the exercise following North Korea's protest.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Monday accused Washington of maintaining what it called a hostile policy toward Pyongyang and vowed to respond with its "toughest counteraction."

A ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency that the regional security environment had become increasingly unstable due to what Pyongyang described as a more aggressive US nuclear posture, Japan's military buildup and South Korea's expansion of its armed forces under trilateral military cooperation.

"There is not the slightest change in our policy toward the United States to respond with the toughest counteraction to the US' unchanged hostile policy," the spokesperson said.

Freedom Edge was launched following an agreement among the leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan at their 2023 Camp David summit to conduct regular multidomain exercises.

The three countries have held the exercise three times since 2024.

Previous iterations have included maritime missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, and air defense, aerial, anti-piracy and cyber defense drills.

Attention is also focused on whether a US aircraft carrier will participate in this year's exercise.

A US carrier did not take part in last year's Freedom Edge for the first time since the trilateral exercise began.

Concerns here have grown that a US carrier could again be absent this year, as US naval assets have been redirected to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes against Iran in February.

Asked whether a US aircraft carrier would participate, Jang said only that he understood the US was still reviewing the matter.

The trilateral exercise comes as South Korea and the United States could further scale back their joint military exercises amid Washington's renewed outreach to North Korea.

Last month, South Korea and the United States abruptly shortened their ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise after US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce joint military drills with Seoul, citing his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The allies ended the exercise on Aug. 21, six days earlier than originally scheduled.