S. Korea, U.S. stage joint naval drills in Yellow Sea last month

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States conducted a regular maritime counter-special operations exercise in the Yellow Sea last month to bolster the allies' defense posture, the South's Navy said Thursday.

The drills took place late last month, involving Aegis combat system-equipped destroyers -- the U.S.' USS John Finn and the South's ROKS Sejong the Great -- and the ROKS Eulji Mundeok destroyer, according to the armed service.

"This exercise is regularly conducted, and was carried out to strengthen the combined defense posture and the interoperability of the South Korean and U.S. Navies," South Korean Navy Cdr. Jang Do-young told reporters in a briefing.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a release Tuesday (U.S. time) that the exercise took place from April 24-27, and consisted of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare drills, air defense exercises, combined live fires, and other training.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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