South Korea to conduct naval drill with US, Britain

South Korea, the United States and Britain will carry out joint naval drill in southern waters off the Korean Peninsula, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. The two-day exercise, slated for Dec. 8-9, will mobilize South Korea's guided missile Aegis destroyer, the U.S. guided missile Aegis cruiser USS Shiloh and the Royal Navy's Daring-class stealth destroyer, the USFK said in a statement. The statement said that the trilateral naval exercise was aimed at improving teamwork and interoperability among the three navies in theater security cooperation and humanitarian relief operations. "This is an exceptional opportunity to bring together three navies that have historically worked very closely together as allies and close friends," said Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. To join the drill, the U.S. and British warships arrived in South Korea's southern port city of Busan earlier in the day. South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a routine press briefing that the joint naval drill was scheduled a great while ago, noting that it was aimed at capitalizing on the British ship's visit to the country. The USS Siloh, forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, is part of the U.S. Seventh Fleet and is carrying out missions throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, according to the USFK.