South Korea and the U.S. have discussed next year's submarine drills and deploying U.S. submarines near the Korean Peninsula amid the threat of North Korea's submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
In a meeting on Guam recently, the two navies discussed staging the drills dubbed "Silent Shark" in the middle of next year, according to the Navy here on Tuesday.
Rear Admiral Lee Soo-yeol, the chief of the Submarine Force Command, recently visited the U.S. Navy's Submarine Group 7 and Submarine Squadron 15 on Guam. Submarine Squadron 15 operates five nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarines.
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Key West is docked in Busan on Oct. 2. /Newsis
The biennial drills have been staged since 2007 to practice confronting diesel-powered submarines in a war. Unlike anti-submarine drills, which are conducted by surface warships, submarines practice finding, chasing and attacking hypothetical enemy subs.
The discussion took place due to recent signs of North Korea developing submarines and SLBMs. The regime is building new subs at the Sinpo shipyard in South Hamgyong Province.
