ANKARA (AA) - The South Korean and US navies began another two-day combined maritime maneuvering exercise in the East Asian country's waters on Friday, local media reported.
A US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is also taking part in the exercises, which has returned to South Korean waters as tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen following North Korea's recent missile launches.
"The allies' navies kicked off the two-day maritime maneuvering drills in the international waters of the East Sea with a plan to stage operations later to escort the USS Ronald Reagan down to waters southeast of the southern island of Jeju," Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) statement.
South Korea deployed the Munmu the Great destroyer and the Donghae frigate for the exercises, while the US deployed the USS Chancellorsville aircraft carrier, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser; and the USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, it said.
The latest joint exercises began a day after 12 North Korean warplanes flew in formation, apparently for an air-to-surface firing exercise. It was a tit-for-tat reaction to recent military drills between South Korea and the US, according to the media outlet.
In response, approximately 30 South Korean fighter jets also flew out.
North Korea, on the other hand, condemned the redeployment of a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in South Korean waters and called it "a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula."
Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday and agreed to firmly respond to the North's nuclear and missile provocations through close trilateral cooperation between their countries and the US, according to the media outlet.
"We shared the understanding that if relations between South Korea and Japan return to the good times of the past at an early date and exchanges between businesses and between our people become smooth, it will be of great help to the two countries' economies," Yoon said.
On Wednesday, the South Korean military said that the US will redeploy its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in South Korean waters after North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile.
Tensions on the peninsula rose in 2020 when North Korea attacked and blew up the inter-Korean liaison office along the border. Seoul has threatened a strong response if Pyongyang "further worsens the situation."
However, tensions soared further last year when both Seoul and Pyongyang ramped up military drills to show off their might.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid