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Yellow Sea drill next week

South Korea and the United States have rescheduled a postponed anti-submarine drill in the Yellow Sea for next week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command said yesterday.

The five-day exercise will begin Monday, according to military officials. The two countries initially planned the event for Sept. 5 to 9 but were forced to delay it due to a typhoon in the area. The anti-submarine drill is intended to rebuke North Korea for the March sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, which Pyongyang denies involvement in. It is also designed to improve the U.S. and South Korea’s capacity to defend the South from submarine attacks.

The drill will take place in South Korean waters west of the peninsula. The South will deploy two destroyers along with other vessels, aircraft and submarines.

The United States will deploy the destroyers U.S.S. John S. McCain and U.S.S. Fitzgerald, along with other vessels, a submarine and aircraft.

The U.S.S. George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier, will not participate in the drill this time. The aircraft carrier participated in the first session of the joint exercise held July 25-28, which took place in the East Sea.

At the time, the drill’s location was restricted to the waters east of the peninsula after China voiced bitter complaints about a U.S. carrier coming near its territorial waters.

Sources said the carrier will likely join a drill in the Yellow Sea next month.

About 1,700 servicemen from the two countries will participate, military officials said.

By Ser Myo-ja [myoja@joongang.co.kr]