North Korea Provokers, South Korean Navy And US War Exercises In The East Sea

American warship USS Greenbay-20 (ANTARA)

South Korea and the United States have carried out joint sea warfare exercises in the East Sea to hone skills in preventing maritime security threats and ensuring safe navigation at sea. This exercise was designed to train the South Korean and American navys to practice procedures and tactics in opening safe navigational lines and strengthening shared response capabilities to complicated mine warfare scenarios, "said the South Korean Navy quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday 9 April. The annual exercise began on April 1 for nine days in the waters of Pohang, 262 kilometers southeast of Seoul involving nine naval vessels and four helicopters from both countries. During the wartime exercise, the US sent an expedition sea base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) for the first time accompanied by two other naval ships and MH-53 helicopters. Miguel Keith's 240-meter-long ship was designed to provide a floating helicopter landing base and provide other support for military operations as a marine expedition base.

Meanwhile, South Korea deployed six ships, including the Nampo MLS-II mine carrier, as well as the P-3 maritime patrol helicopter and the UH-60 helicopter. The joint exercise carried out various exercises to hone skills in installing, detecting and eliminating mines, providing logistical support and landing of helicopters on ships to train the ability of sailors to protect major ports and maritime traffic routes in similar situations.