Navy kicks off exercise to defend western sea border

The South Korean Navy on Thursday kicked off a three-day maritime exercise to defend the western sea border from possible North Korean provocations, the military said.

The exercise will be conducted in a bid to deter North Korean patrol vessels from crossing the western maritime border, widely known as the Northern Limit Line , it said. The two Koreas fought several bloody sea battles along the NLL in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

Pyongyang does not acknowledge the de facto demarcation line drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.

The drill will involve around 20 warships including the 7,600 tone Aegis-equipped destroyer and other military assets such as the P-3 surveillance plane and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters.

"We are keeping full combat readiness to swiftly respond to the enemy's possible provocations in waters off the west coast," the Navy said in a statement.

Besides the naval clashes, North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship in early 2010, killing 46 sailors, and it also shelled Yeonpyeong island near the demarcation line in November of that year, which fueled inter-Korean tensions. (Yonhap)