South Korea and the United States will begin major joint military exercises next week, to enhance their joint defense readiness in the face of advanced North Korean military threats, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The annual "Ulchi Freedom Shield" maneuvers, based on a comprehensive war scenario, are scheduled to take place from August 19 to 29, which will include computer-simulated main command center exercises, simultaneous field exercises, and civil defense exercises. During the exercise period, the government-led Ulchi Civil Defense exercises will include a scenario in which North Korea uses nuclear weapons, but the joint exercises of the allies will not include such a scenario, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The move comes amid concerns over Pyongyang's efforts to bolster its weapons programs, having launched 37 ballistic missiles this year alone. The allies said this year's drills would cover threats across all domains, including those posed by North Korean missiles, GPS jamming an d cyber attacks, as well as lessons learned from recent armed conflicts. 'In particular, the South Korea-U.S. alliance will work to strengthen its capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction,' the allies said in a statement. Source: National Iraqi News Agency