The militaries of South Korea and the United States said Wednesday they will stage their annual joint springtime military exercise next month to strengthen their combined defense posture, but they have yet to agree on details of related field training. The Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to take place from March 9-19, involving the field training exercise dubbed "Warrior Shield," according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). The allies' militaries said the upcoming drills will help further strengthen the alliance's readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations. "This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a condition-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement," they said in a joint statement. South Korea is seeking to achieve the "conditions-based" handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term that ends in 2030. As part of efforts for the "swift" transfer, the allies have agreed