(Song Kyung-Seok/Pool Photo via AP)SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean and U.S. troops will begin their annual exercises next week to beef up readiness against North Korean threats, the allies announced Monday, days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing activities that are banned by the U.N. The Ulchi Freedom Shield is to begin next Monday for a 11-day run and its scale will be similar to previous years with about 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating in it, South Korean military spokesperson Jang Do-young told reporters. The upcoming summertime drill is one of the two main combined exercises conducted by South Korea and U.S. militaries annually, along with their springtime training. On Thursday, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile from North Korea in what was the North's first ballistic weapons testing activity since late June. South Korea and Japan condemned the launch as a provocation or a threat because multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from engaging in any ballistic activities.