Naval destroyer to participate in fleet review, int'l field training in U.S.

▲ This undated file photo, provided by South Korea's Navy, shows the 4,400-ton Munmu the Great destroyer. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Navy destroyer-fleet review

Naval destroyer to participate in fleet review, int'l field training in U.S.

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean naval destroyer will participate in a fleet review and multinational field exercise in the United States over the next two months, the Navy said Monday.

The 4,400-ton ROKS Munmu the Great destroyer will leave a naval base on Jeju Island later in the day to take part in an international fleet review in New York, scheduled for July 3-8, the Navy said in a release.

The warship is among some 100 other naval vessels of around 50 countries participating in the fleet review, including Canada, Britain, Japan and Spain.

Ahead of the fleet review, the warship will take part in multinational field training at the end of next month. It will be held on the east coast of Norfolk in Virginia, home to a key U.S. naval base.

The field exercise will be hosted by the U.S. Second Fleet, responsible for operations on the East Coast and in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Joining the training will be about 30 naval vessels from 18 countries, including Brazil, France and Britain.

The Munmu the Great, named after a king of the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D), will also conduct promotional activities for South Korean naval ships and weapons systems at port calls in Mexico and Colombia.

On its way home, the destroyer plans to make port calls in the Colombian city of Cartagena and San Diego in the U.S. to carry out activities honoring veterans who fought alongside South Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War.

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