South Korea, the United States and Japan will conduct the 2026 Freedom Edge multi-domain exercise in international waters east and south of Jeju Island from the 7th to the 11th of next month, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on the 28th.
The JCS described the drills as "a defensive exercise conducted annually by the three countries to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and to safeguard peace and stability in the region."
The exercise will be the first in about a year, following the third round held September 15-19 last year. Freedom Edge, conducted in waters near the Korean Peninsula to strengthen trilateral security cooperation, has been held three times — in June and November 2024 and in September last year.
The three countries agreed to hold regular multi-domain exercises at the Camp David trilateral summit in 2023, then announced the launch of Freedom Edge at a trilateral defense ministers' meeting in June the following year.
A JCS official told reporters that each country is still reviewing which assets it will send, adding that the scale and content of the exercise will be similar to previous years.
A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier is unlikely to take part, as was the case with the third Freedom Edge exercise, according to sources.
