Latest South Korea and U.S. Launch Two-Week Freedom Flag Air Drills

Minute Brief

26 Oct 2026

The allies have begun a two-week exercise at Kunsan Air Base focused on counter-air operations, air interdiction and preparations for South Korea to lead combined wartime missions.

26 Oct 2026

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating fell by 2 percentage points to 35.3 percent, while a separate survey put the opposition People Power Party ahead of the ruling Democratic Party.

26 Oct 2026

Pyongyang has accused Seoul of fabricating responsibility for a September mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone, escalating the dispute through a letter to the UN Security Council as military tensions rise along the inter-Korean border.

Politics

5 stories

South Korea and U.S. Launch Two-Week Freedom Flag Air Drills

Two unmarked fighter aircraft at a generic airfield illustrate combined South Korea-U.S. air training. AI-generated illustrative image; not a photograph of the event.

President Lee’s Approval Rating Falls to 35.3% in New Poll

Blank survey forms near South Korea's National Assembly illustrate a report on presidential approval polling. AI-generated illustrative image; not a photograph of the event.

North Korea Takes DMZ Mine Dispute With Seoul to UN Security Council

US Midterms Could Test Korea Alliance Without Rewriting Washington’s Policy

Lee Weighs Two Former Prosecutors for South Korea’s Justice Minister

An empty conceptual legal office illustrates deliberations over South Korea's justice minister post. AI-generated illustrative image; not a photograph of the event.