SEOUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - South Korea's military said it

will hold a three-day joint exercise with the United States and

Japan starting on Wednesday, featuring fighter jets and marine

patrol aircraft as well as the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft

carrier USS George Washington.

The "Freedom Edge" exercise is a response to what the South

Korean military said were threats from North Korea, which

recently conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test,

drawing condemnation from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.

It also comes as the U.S. State Department said North Korean

troops have started engaging in combat operations in Russia's

war with Ukraine.

The exercise will include South Korean and Japanese fighter

jets and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the USS George

Washington, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a

statement.

The trilateral exercise follows a first round held earlier

this year after the leaders of the three countries agreed at a

summit in 2023 to hold annual training drills.

Pyongyang has long condemned joint drills between South

Korea and the United States, calling them a rehearsal for

invasion.

The trilateral exercise will also include maritime missile

defence training and cyber defence training, according to the

JCS.

In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force said it would

retire its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in key regions including

South Korea in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its modernisation

strategy.

The aircraft, nicknamed "The Warthog", was developed for the

U.S. Air Force by the Fairchild Republic Company, which is now

part of Northrop Grumman ( NOC ), according to the U.S. defence

company's website.