JCS officially announces UFS exercise shortened by six days; Defense Minister Ahn says it will not affect wartime operational control verification

[Financial News] In the wake of President Donald Trump's abrupt order to scale back the joint exercise, the duration of this year's ROK-US combined exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), has been cut by half from the original plan. At the same time, signs of urgent movement within the ROK and U.S. military leadership are emerging, including the suspension of operations at the main wartime command post in Seongnam and the start of a withdrawal of key U.S. personnel back to Pyeongtaek.
The Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (ROK JCS) officially announced on the 19th that this year's UFS exercise will be conducted from the 17th to the 21st. Originally, South Korean and U.S. forces had planned to carry out a first-phase 'defense' drill responding to North Korean provocations and a second-phase 'counterattack' simulation through the 27th in sequence. However, with the second-phase counterattack drill abruptly canceled, the exercise period has effectively been cut in half.
The move to scale back the exercise is also becoming visible on the ground. According to a military source on the day, key U.S. personnel at 'CP TANGO,' the main wartime command post of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, have stopped operating the wartime command post and begun returning to and relocating to Camp Humphreys, the peacetime command post in Pyeongtaek. The CFC is currently conducting the exercise with its wartime command post split between Seongnam and Pyeongtaek, but the early withdrawal of U.S. personnel has made the signs of a command post transition more apparent.
As a result, most of the actual Field Training Exercises (FTX) involving South Korean and U.S. troops that were scheduled during this UFS exercise are also being canceled. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back acknowledged on the day that the plan appears to be moving toward canceling the second-phase counterattack drill against North Korea, but he dismissed concerns that more than 10 FTX events would be canceled en masse, saying, "It is not that extensive," and adding, "Even after the UFS exercise ends, we will conduct them in a distributed manner throughout the year." Regarding concerns that canceling the second-phase counterattack drill could disrupt verification for the transfer of wartime operational control, Ahn said the first-phase training alone would not pose a problem for the assessment. South Korea and the United States conduct verification evaluations for the transfer of wartime operational control through the UFS exercise, and with the second-phase drill canceled, concerns have emerged that the transfer process could also be affected. In response, Ahn stressed that "South Korea is the world's fifth-strongest military power and the 10th-largest economy" and said, "There is no issue if the verification assessment is completed with the first-phase training."
The measure comes just three days after President Trump ordered a major reduction in the combined exercise to help create conditions for dialogue, and its broader impact is drawing attention.

[email protected] Reporter Lee Jong-yoon Reporter