US, South Korea hold joint naval salvage exercise

ANKARA

The US and South Korea conducted a naval exercise aimed at improving joint salvage and rescue capabilities at sea during both wartime and peacetime.

The five-day exercise, which began Monday in waters off Changwon, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Seoul, involved the South Korean Navy’s Gwangyang salvage and rescue ship as well as troops from the Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit and the US Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday.

The drill is designed to train South Korean and US sailors for various joint rescue and salvage operations in the event of maritime distress situations during both wartime and peacetime.

During the exercise, the two sides' troops took part in several drills, including scuba training to search for missing personnel from a simulated shipwreck.

They also trained on using a diving bell to transport divers at underwater depths of about 40 to 50 meters.

South Korea's Coast Guard personnel as well as British and Australian troops also took part in the drills as observers.

*Writing by Aamir Latif