S. Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield joint military exercise wraps up on Thurs. after 11-day run

A major military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. came to an end on this Thursday after 11 days of comprehensive drills.

This year's Freedom Shield was the first under the second Trump administration and featured expanded on-field drills.

It also took into account realistic threats such as potential changes in North Korea's military strategy in light of its defense deal with Russia.

Meanwhile North Korea for its part condemned the annual training between South Korea and U.S. and test-launched a series of close-range ballistic missiles into the West Sea on the first day of the training but stayed silent in the following days.