The South Korean military has conducted intensive nighttime exercises to detect North Korean submarines and torpedoes in the West Sea over the past days, as part of its five-day naval drill, Yonhap News Agency said Sunday. The drill ends Monday.
The nighttime naval exercises are intended to prevent the recurrence of the worst peacetime naval ship sinking in Korea's history, officials said.
"The most noteworthy part in the naval drill is to improve the military's capabilities to detect North Korean submarines and torpedoes," said a military official, noting the nighttime training has been held for six to seven hours, starting around 8 p.m.
He said, "All naval vessels equipped with a sonar have participated in the nighttime exercises. The ongoing no-moonlight period seems to have added to the effectiveness of the large-scale training," according to Yonhap.