South Korea and the United States will begin a major combined military exercise next week to strengthen their joint defense readiness in the face of evolving military threats from North Korea.

The allies’ military authorities announced in a joint press briefing Thursday that the annual Freedom Shield exercise will start Monday and continue through March 20. 

The South Korean military said the exercise will strengthen the allies’ combined readiness posture and their ability to respond to provocations by incorporating scenarios in the exercise that reflect North Korea’s strategies, tactics, and changes in military power derived from an analysis of the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. 

The military added that the allies will expand their outdoor maneuver exercises across the domains of land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, and will demonstrate their enhanced combined deterrence capabilities to improve their interoperability. 

Member states of the United Nations Command will participate in this year’s drills, and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission plans to observe them to oversee the implementation of the Korean Armistice Agreement.