Seoul: South Korea and the United States conducted a regular naval exercise aimed at enhancing joint maritime rescue and salvage capabilities during both wartime and peacetime.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the five-day exercise began on Monday in waters off Changwon, about 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul, with the participation of the South Korean salvage and rescue ship ROKS Gwangyang, along with personnel from the South Korean Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit and the US Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit.
The joint exercise is intended to train South Korean and US sailors in various combined rescue and salvage operations during maritime emergencies in both wartime and peacetime.
As part of the exercise, South Korean and US troops took part in several drills, including scuba diving training to locate missing personnel from a simulated shipwreck, and the use of a diving bell to transport divers to depths of approximately 40 to 50 metres.
Coast Guard personnel, as well as British and Australian troops, participated in the drills as observers.