WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The United States and South Korea said Wednesday they will hold more naval exercises in the Yellow Sea in early September.
The anti-submarine warfare training is directly tied to last spring's sinking of a South Korean navy ship by a North Korean submarine, the Defense Department said in a release. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said U.S. and South Korean cabinet members discussed ways to show solidarity when they met last month in Seoul.
"We said we would continue a series of exercises -- defensive in nature -- that are designed to send a clear message to North Korea," Whitman said.
It hadn't been determined which surface ships, submarines and air units will take part in the war games, Whitman said.
"It will be conducted in the waters off the western coast of South Korea," Whitman said. "This exercise is designed to improve the readiness and proficiency of U.S. and (South Korean) forces to defend against subsurface attacks."
The exercises were scheduled despite previous objections by China to U.S. military activities in the Yellow Sea. The United States military has conducted such exercises in the region for decades.
"China has no reason to view this exercise or this series of exercises as a threat to its security," Whitman said. "These exercises are intended to deter North Korea from future destabilizing attacks such as occurred with Cheonan and assure the region of (U.S. and South Korean) resolve to maintain security and stability on the Korean peninsula."
