SEOUL, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The United States, South Korea and Japan will kick off their annual Freedom Edge trilateral military exercise on Sept. 7, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.
The multi-domain drills will run through Sept. 11 and will be held in international waters east and south of South Korea's Jeju Island, the JCS said in a message to reporters.
"This exercise is a defensive exercise conducted annually by the three nations to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and to safeguard regional peace and stability," the message said.
The announcement comes after Seoul and Washington cut short their joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise following an order by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at restarting direct diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump last week abruptly ordered the allies to curtail the exercise, citing its cost and saying the drills sent an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to Pyongyang. The exercise was subsequently shortened by almost a week.
North Korea routinely denounces joint military drills as rehearsals for an invasion and has carried out weapons tests around major allied exercises. Pyongyang last year called Freedom Edge "the most comprehensive and offensive war drill for aggression in its scale, content and nature."
U.S. Forces Japan said this year's iteration of Freedom Edge represented the allies' "most advanced trilateral cooperation to date."
"Freedom Edge 26 will significantly expand trilateral interoperability across multiple domains," USFJ said in a statement. "Crucially, this year's iteration features enhanced real-time data sharing and synchronized coordination among all three nations to defend against evolving regional threats."
The exercise will also include multinational maritime and aviation capabilities, enhanced air defense scenarios, medical evacuation training and maritime interdiction operations, USFJ said.
North Korea has so far shown little inclination to engage with Trump's overtures. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, said last week that Pyongyang had "no interest" in the reduction of the U.S.-South Korea drills.
On Thursday, North Korea condemned U.S. approval of a possible $125 million sale of Sidewinder missiles and related equipment to South Korea, warning of a "serious, immediate and powerful response."
Freedom Edge emerged from a trilateral summit at Camp David in August 2023, where the then-leaders of the three countries agreed to expand security cooperation. The first Freedom Edge exercise was held in June 2024.