South Korea, US Hold Joint Mine Countermeasures Exercises

Seoul, 16 Apr (ONA) --- South Korea and the US have conducted a combined naval drills in waters near the southeastern coastal city of Pohang to enhance their joint mine warfare capabilities, the South's Navy said today.

Yonhap News Agency quoted the South Korean Navy as saying that, "the nine-day exercise, involved 10 warships and three helicopters from both sides, including the South's Nampo MLS-II mine layer and the US mine countermeasures ship USS Warrior (MCM-10)." The training involved various exercises such as laying, detecting and removing mines, aimed at familiarizing troops with combined operations procedures and sharpening their skills for using manned and unmanned assets for mine warfare.

The latest drills marked the 10th naval mine warfare exercise the allies conducted since launching the exercise in 2014.

--- Ends/Khalid