Tag: ROK Navy

Senior Japanese and ROK Military Leaders Together Visit a U.S. Nuclear Submarine for the First Time

Just another example of the growing trilateral cooperation between the ROK, Japan, and the U.S.:

The U.S. military has revealed South Korean, U.S. and Japanese submarine commanders jointly boarded an American nuclear ballistic missile submarine for the first time last month, in a sign of bolstering trilateral cooperation against North Korean threats.

On the Pentagon’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, it posted a series of photos showing the three officials aboard the USS Maine, an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, in the vicinity of Guam on April 18.

The three were Rear Adm. Lee Su-youl, the commander of the South Korean Navy’s Submarine Force; Rear Adm. Rick Seif, the commander of the U.S.’ Submarine Group 7; and Vice Adm. Tateki Tawara, the commander of Japan’s Fleet Submarine Force.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Picture of the Day: Trilateral Missile Defense Drill

S. Korea-U.S.-Japan missile defense drills
S. Korea-U.S.-Japan missile defense drills
Three Aegis-equipped destroyers — the Yulgok Yi I (front) of the South Korean Navy, the Benfold (C) of the U.S. Navy and the JS Atago of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force — sail in waters off South Korea’s east coast on April 17, 2023, as South Korea, the United States and Japan began a trilateral missile defense exercise amid stepped-up efforts to sharpen deterrence against North Korean threats, in this photo released by the South Korean Navy. The drill focused on practicing procedures to detect and track a computer-simulated ballistic missile target, and share related information. (Yonhap)

South Korea Participates in Trilateral Naval Drill with the U.S. and Japan

It is great to see the growing trilateral cooperation between the ROK, U.S., and Japan:

South Korea, the United States and Japan kicked off a trilateral naval exercise, involving an American aircraft carrier, in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Monday, Seoul’s defense ministry said, amid joint efforts to reinforce deterrence against growing North Korean threats.

The two-day anti-submarine and search-and-rescue exercise, featuring the USS Nimitz carrier, got under way in the international waters south of the southern island of Jeju.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

ROK Naval Taskforce Conducts Training in Hawaii

This ROK Naval taskforce is getting some good training all across the Pacific to include at Hawaii:

South Korean marines take part in an amphibious raid during a multinational Rim of the Pacific drill at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 30, 2022. (Devin Langer/U.S. Navy)

The Republic of Korea navy’s cruise training task group arrived Friday at Pearl Harbor for five days of classes and cultural events for sailors and the South Korean navy’s future leaders.

Among the 460 members of the training group are 164 midshipmen from the Republic of Korea naval academy sailing aboard the ROKS Hansando, a newly built training ship.

Joined by the combat support ship ROKS Daecheong, this is the first training cruise for the Hansando after commissioning last year.

Before arriving in Hawaii the training group made stops in Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The group’s final port of call in its 110-day voyage will be in Guam before returning home to South Korea.

“It’s a meaningful opportunity where our midshipmen can experience and have an opportunity to learn the Indo-Pacific strategy that the Korean government has put out recently,” said Rear Adm. Kang Dong-goo, commander of the cruise training group.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

For the First Time in Seven Years, South Korea Participates in Japan’s Fleet Review

Just another sign of warming relations between South Korea and Japan:

This file photo, provided by the Navy on March 17, 2019, shows its 10,000-ton logistics support ship Soyang in unspecified waters. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
This file photo, provided by the Navy on March 17, 2019, shows its 10,000-ton logistics support ship Soyang in unspecified waters.

A South Korean naval vessel took part in Japan’s international fleet review on Sunday for the first time in seven years amid escalating nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

South Korea was one of 12 countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, to take part in the review that took place in Sagami Bay off Kanagawa Prefecture, about 40 kilometers southeast of Tokyo.

Sailors aboard South Korea’s 10,000-ton logistics support ship Soyang saluted toward Japan’s helicopter carrier Izumo carrying Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as sailors from other participating countries do while passing the carrier.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

U.S., South Korea, and Japan to Begin Trilateral Missile Defense Exercise this Week

It is good to see this trilateral cooperation restarting again after it was stopped when former President Moon Jae-in was elected:

This file photo taken Oct. 1, 2021, shows the Sejong The Great destroyer operating in waters off the southeastern port city of Pohang. (Yonhap)

 South Korea, the United States and Japan will kick off a combined ballistic missile defense exercise in waters off Hawaii this week, informed sources said Sunday, amid their stepped-up security coordination against North Korea’s evolving military threats.

The biennial Pacific Dragon exercise is scheduled to take place from Monday through Aug. 14, according to them. In addition to the three countries, Australia and Canada will join the exercise in this year’s edition. 

Featuring the mobilization of eight warships and two aircraft, the exercise is aimed at enhancing cooperation among the participating countries in detecting, tracking and reporting ballistic missile targets. 

The exercise has been arranged as the defense chiefs of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to reinforce their security coordination during their trilateral gathering on the margins of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 11.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Picture of the Day: Departing for RIMPAC

S. Korea departs for U.S.-led maritime drills
S. Korea departs for U.S.-led maritime drills
This photo, released by the Navy on May 31, 2022, shows Rear Adm. An Sang-min (front) and members of his fleet saluting at a naval base on South Korea’s southern Jeju Island on May 31, 2022, before they depart to join the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, a U.S.-led biennial multinational maritime exercise. The Marado (behind them), a 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship, was dispatched on the mission set for June through early August in waters off Hawaii. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)