▲ South Korean warships conduct combined maritime drills with the United States in the Yellow Sea in this photo provided by the Navy on Oct. 26, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-drills

S. Korea, U.S. stage combined maritime drills in Yellow Sea

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have been conducting a large-scale maritime exercise in the Yellow Sea to strengthen the allies' defense posture and interoperability, the South's Navy said Thursday.

The drills involving South Korea's Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard, as well as the U.S. Navy and Army, kicked off Tuesday for a four-day run in waters west of Taean, about 110 kilometers southwest of Seoul, as part of the annual Hoguk field training exercise.

About 30 warships, including an Aegis combat system-equipped destroyer, maritime surveillance aircraft and helicopters were deployed to conduct the combined drills with the Army's coast guard units, Air Force's fighter jets and the Coast Guard's vessels.

The U.S. Navy's P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and Army's Apache helicopters joined the exercise.

The South Korean and U.S. forces staged defense operations against North Korea's provocations near the inter-Korean maritime border to enhance their combined and joint operational capabilities, according to the Navy.

Earlier this month, South Korea and the U.S. conducted an anti-submarine exercise Silent Shark in waters off the coast of Guam to bolster their anti-submarine warfare proficiency against North Korean threats.

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