South Korea and the United States began large-scale annual spring military drills Monday as North Korea continues to refine its missile and nuclear weapons programs.

The Freedom Shield joint exercise, which features computer-simulated command-post training and 48 field training drills — double the number in last year’s iteration of the exercise — will run through March 14.

The exercise is the first since Pyongyang scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military accord in November. That agreement was intended to reduce tensions along the two Koreas' border. Seoul said no joint maneuvers have been scheduled near the border during Freedom Shield.