S. Korea, US, Japan set to hold trilateral Freedom Edge drills in September

South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to hold their multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise in September, sources said Thursday, amid efforts by the three sides to continue their trilateral security cooperation. The top generals of the three countries are expected to discuss the plan in their Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) gathering scheduled to take place at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters on Friday, according to the sources. If finalized, it would mark the third round of the trilateral exercise aimed at enhancing their interoperability across domains including air, maritime, underwater and cyber amid joint efforts to better deter and respond to North Korea's provocations. The exercise, which takes its name from key bilateral exercises the U.S. holds with the Asian neighbors — Freedom Shield with South Korea and Keen Edge with Japan — kicked off in June last year. The three sides conducted the second round of the exercise in November. In addition to the exercise, the top military officers are expected to discuss their security cooperation and North KoreaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times