We, the undersigned organizations, call on the Trump administration to cancel the Freedom Shield 26 war games and all future military exercises in Korea. We further express our solidarity with the mass organizations, trade unions, civil society groups, and political parties of the Republic of Korea (ROK) who are organizing to oppose Freedom Shield.
Every year in March, US Forces Korea and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea (ROK) host a massive series of destructive and provocative military exercises known as Freedom Shield. This year, Freedom Shield 26 is scheduled to take place from March 9-19.
Last year, preparations for Freedom Shield resulted in the bombing of Pocheon, a border city in the ROK. The US and ROK militaries dropped eight 500-lbs. MK-82 bombs on homes and churches in Pocheon. Hundreds of homes were damaged,dozens of people were injured, and critical infrastructure was damaged, resulting in a total of 5,372 affected residents. Most are still waiting for meaningful action by the ROK government to address their needs for housing and healthcare.
While the US claims its war games in Korea help defend the ROK, incidents like the Pocheon bombing show that these military exercises are simply war against the Korean people by another name. These war games also routinely rehearse the invasion, occupation, and use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK under the guise of defensive military exercises. Freedom Shield and other US war games advance Washington’s geopolitical interests at the expense of the people of Korea and the regional stability of Northeast Asia.
While the Trump administration has declared its intent to establish peace in Korea, it has taken few meaningful steps to achieve this. In 2024, USFK conducted 275 days of war games in Korea, and 274 days of war games in 2025. The administration’s aggressive actions clearly contradict its rhetoric, and damage any prospects for peace in Korea. Cancelling U.S. military exercises was critical to facilitating dialogue with Pyongyang in Trump’s first term, and cancelling Freedom Shield now would be a sensible step that would help make talks possible in the future.
Military spending on the part of the US and its allies has grown explosively over the past year. As the Trump administration calls for a $1.5 trillion budget for the Department of War, it is also pressuring other nations to expand their military spending. This military spending spree will not feed the hungry, give relief to the poor, or heal our ecologically ravaged planet. It will only invest precious time and resources towards more misery and destruction. Opposing this rising tide of militarism is not simply a question of morality, but of survival.
On February 28, thousands of people representing hundreds of organizations across the ROK marched in protest of the upcoming Freedom Shield war exercises. Cancelling the war games is a common sense step to reduce tensions in Korea that has the backing of South Korean civil society and international peace organizations. We join this international call for peace by condemning Freedom Shield and calling for its cancellation.