Korea-New Zealand Anti-Sub Drills Begin
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korean and New Zealand Navies Friday kicked off a week-long joint anti-submarine training exercise in the waters off Pohang, some 370 kilometers south of Seoul, the Navy said.
The biennial drill, initiated in 1997, is designed to help hone joint anti-submarine operational skills and improve bilateral ties, it said in a news release.
The joint exercise has been held in waters off South Korea because New Zealand doesn't have a submarine, it said.
This time, a South Korean P-3C maritime patrol plane and a 1,300-ton Type-209 submarine are participating in the exercise, while the New Zealand Navy sent a P-3K and 33 crewmembers and engineers, according to the release.