South Koreans start mock naval battles

S Korea: The South Korean Naval Command began a five-day anti-submarine combat exercise which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) described as a deliberate military provocation with the intention to invade that country.

In these large-scale five day naval exercises are involved around 20 ships, 50 aircraft, coast guards and 4,500 marines who will use live shells in the maritime area in which the sophisticated corvette Cheonan sank in March, in the waters off the South Korean Baengnyeong island, according to Yonhap news agency.

These maneuvers are being developed after joint naval and air exercises between South Korean and USA in the Sea of Japan held in July. Previously, the DPRK warned of a powerful physical reprisal against the drill, which takes place near the disputed maritime border in the west coast of the peninsula. The western part of the maritime limit is a point of bilateral friction because the line drawn unilaterally by the United Nations at the end of the war of 1950-1953 is not acknowledged. Seoul, Prensa Latina