Military authorities of South Korea and the United States will kick off crisis management drills on Tuesday in the runup to the Ulchi Freedom Shield(UFS) exercise which will begin next week.

The four-day drills will focus on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command’s initial response to a major threat to national security so that such a threat does not develop into a war.

The drills will also involve assistance from a government response team so that measures that have integrated politics, information and the economy can be implemented in the event of crises.

This year’s UFS exercise will kick off next Monday and run through September 1.

The defense ministry plans to boost the nation’s capacity to handle an all-out war situation and apply scenarios in the drills that have taken into consideration international disputes and threats to infrastructure.