US, S.Korea to hold second joint naval drill to deter N.Korea

Seoul (S. Korea), Sept.24 (ANI): South Korea and the United States will hold anti-submarine drills next week in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula as a deterrent to North Korea, the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) said Friday.

According to The China Daily, the five-day exercises will start on September 27. These exercises are the second joint military response by Seoul and Washington to the deadly sinking of the South Korean warship "Cheonan" in March, which has been blamed on Pyongyang.

The allies staged major joint military drills off the peninsula's east coast in late July.

About 10 ships, including two U.S. guided missile destroyers and two submarines, and some 1,700 troops from the allies will be mobilized for the new round of drills, local media reported, quoting officials from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The exercises were originally scheduled to be held in early September but were delayed for safety reasons related to Typhoon Malou arriving in South Korean waters during the exercise period. (ANI)