South Korea's Navy launched maneuvering drills this week to honor service members killed in Yellow Sea clashes with North Korea and to sharpen combat readiness. The four-day exercise, set to conclude Friday, included a Thursday ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the Cheonan corvette sinking.
South Korea's Navy launched maneuvering drills this week to honor service members killed during naval clashes with North Korea in the Yellow Sea and to sharpen its combat readiness, the armed service said Thursday. The four-day exercise, set to conclude Friday, involves intensive training in anti-submarine warfare, tactical maneuvering, and firing capabilities on the eastern and western coasts. About 20 surface ships, including the 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer, submarines, P-3 and P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft, and AW-159 naval helicopters have been mobilized. The drills coincide with commemorations this week for 55 sailors and Marines killed in major clashes near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto inter-Korean maritime border. On Thursday, the Navy held a remembrance ceremony at the 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, for the 16th anniversary of the 2010 Cheonan corvette sinking. The 1,200-ton warship sank near the western NLL after a North Korean midget submarine fired a torpedo, killing 46 sailors. Some 200 guests, including bereaved family members, surviving sailors, and the vice defense minister, attended. Naval Chief of Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul said in a message, 'The Navy and the Marine Corps will eternally not forget that the peace of our waters lies on the back of their sacrifice and will continue to firmly defend the maritime security of South Korea they fought to protect with their lives.'
