Navy holds first live-fire drills of new year

The Navy staged its first live-fire drills of the year Wednesday to strengthen readiness against possible North Korean provocations, its officials said.

The exercise took place in waters off the eastern, western and southern coasts of the country simultaneously, involving 13 warships and three aircraft from the First, Second and Third Fleets, according to the officials.

The Second Fleet mobilized five warships, including the flagship 3,200-ton Eulji Mundeok destroyer and the 2,800-ton Cheonan frigate, and an aircraft for live-fire and anti-submarine warfare training in the Yellow Sea.

The First and Third Fleets deployed warships and aircraft for live-fire and tactical maneuver drills in the East Sea and in waters south of the country, respectively.

“We must clearly recognize the grave security situation of North Korea’s continued provocations and threats,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Yang Yong-mo said in an on-site guidance over the Yellow Sea aboard a P-3C maritime patrol aircraft, according to the Navy.

“Through realistic training that considers the operational environment of each of the waters, (I instruct the Navy to) establish a firm readiness posture for stern punishment against any enemy provocation,” he said.

Tensions have grown after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations “between two states hostile to each other” and called for stepped-up preparations to “suppress the whole territory of South Korea” in a year-end ruling party meeting that ended Saturday.