Seoul, August 08 (Saba) - South Korea's military has conducted intensive nighttime exercises to detect North Korean submarines and torpedoes in the Yellow Sea over the past days, as part of its five-day naval drill scheduled to end on Monday, officials said Sunday. The nighttime naval exercises are intended to prevent the recurrence of the worst peacetime naval ship sinking in Korea's history, said the officials, according to South Korea's news agency (Yonhap).

"The most noteworthy part in the naval drill is to improve the military's capabilities to detect North Korean submarines and torpedoes," said a military official, noting the nighttime training has been held for six to seven hours.

"All naval vessels equipped with a sonar have participated in the nighttime exercises. The ongoing no-moonlight period seems to have added to the effectiveness of the large-scale training."

A team of international investigators concluded that the South Korean warship Cheonan was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine on the night of March 26, which secretly intruded into the South's waters under the cover of darkness. The attack killed 46 South Korean sailors.

The ongoing naval drill, Seoul's latest response to Pyongyang's provocation, will have mobilized some 4,500 troops by Monday from all four branches of the service -- Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

It has also involved the 14,000-ton Dokdo amphibious landing ship, a 1,800-ton submarine and a 4,500-ton KDX-II class destroyer, plus some 50 fighter jets, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Over the past days, the South Korean military has also carried out various live-fire exercises targeting North Korean military jets and warships.

Pyongyang has repeatedly warned against the South's naval drills, vowing to launch a physical attack on the South in the tense Yellow Sea. So far, however, the North's military remains passive, according to JSC officials.

Saba