S. Korea, U.S. to hold annual defense exercise from August 18 to 28

South Korea and the United States will hold their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise this month.

In a joint press conference earlier on this Thursday the two sides announced the joint military exercise will begin on August 18th and end on the 28th.

While this year's exercise will be similar in scale to that of last year 20 out of the 40 field drills will be pushed back to September amid the intense heat.

Officials also said the drills will include missile threat scenarios and aim to reinforce deterrence against North Korea.

The annual exercise involves some 18-thousand South Korean troops and roughly the same number of American soldiers.