South Korea and the United States agreed to stage joint naval drills later this month in waters off the South's west coast in a show of force against North Korea's torpedo attack on a Seoul warship, a high-ranking official said Friday.
"After consultations, South Korea and the U.S. have decided to hold the naval drills in the final week of June," said the official at the South's Ministry of National Defense.
"A fleet of U.S. warships, including an aircraft carrier of the U.S. 7th Fleet, will join the drills," the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The two allies are expected to conduct more anti-submarine exercises in early July in the Yellow Sea, where the South Korean warship Cheonan was sunk on March 26. A team of international experts concluded last month that the ship was downed by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine. Forty-six sailors were killed.
South Korea and the U.S. had originally planned to hold the naval drill early this month, but postponed it as the U.S. side needed more time to prepare.