Korea, US to hold joint naval drills from Sunday

By Lee Tae-hoon

South Korea and the United States will launch a new round of joint naval drills Sunday off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, the second in a series of planned combined military maneuvers following the Cheonan incident in March, military officials said Friday.

The anti-submarine exercises will be staged through Thursday, mostly far south of the inter-Korean maritime border, where a North Korean submarine allegedly sneaked in and torpedoed the South Korean frigate on March 26, Navy Capt. Kim Young-cheol said.

The upcoming exercises are designed to send a clear message of deterrence to Pyongyang and improve overall anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the combined forces, the U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.

About 10 warships, including two U.S. guided-missile destroyers and a fast-attack U.S. submarine, will take part in the upcoming naval exercise.

Unlike the previous drills in July in the East Sea, the U.S. Navy will not send a U.S. aircraft carrier.

Seoul will mobilize four destroyers, P-3C planes and a submarine for the drills, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Some 1,700 navy and marine personnel from the two countries will take part in the exercise.