Home > National > Defense

South Korean Navy holds drills to honor fallen troops from clashes with North

Published: 26 Mar. 2026, 15:56 Updated: 26 Mar. 2026, 17:53

South Korean warships take part in a four-day exercise to honor service members killed during military clashes with North Korea in the Yellow Sea and sharpen their combat readiness posture on March 25. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY]

The South Korean Navy launched maneuvering drills this week to honor service members killed during naval clashes with North Korea in the Yellow Sea and sharpen its combat readiness posture, the armed service said on Thursday.

As part of the four-day exercise set to conclude on Friday, naval troops have been conducting intensive drills aimed at strengthening their antisubmarine warfare, tactical maneuvering and firing capabilities, according to the Navy.

Some 20 surface ships, including the 8,200-ton Jeongjo the Great destroyer, submarines, the P-3 and P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft and the AW-159 naval helicopter, have been mobilized for the exercise conducted on the eastern and western coasts, it added.

The drills came as South Korea commemorates the 55 sailors and Marines killed in major clashes with North Korea near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) — a de facto inter-Korean maritime border — this week.

On Thursday, the Navy also held a remembrance ceremony to honor troops killed during the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan corvette by a North Korean attack in the Yellow Sea.

Surviving sailors of the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan corvette salute as they attend a remembrance ceremony held at the Navy's 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers (37.28 miles) south of Seoul, on March 26. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The 1,200-ton warship sank near the western NLL in March 2010 after a North Korean midget submarine fired a torpedo, killing 46 sailors.

Some 200 guests, including the bereaved family members and surviving sailors, as well as the vice defense minister, took part in the ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the incident at the 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers (37.28 miles) south of Seoul.

“The Navy and the Marine Corps will eternally not forget that the peace of our waters lies on the back of their sacrifice and will continue to firmly defend the maritime security of South Korea they fought to protect with their lives,” Naval Chief of Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul said in a message.

A ceremony honoring all 55 service members killed in action during naval clashes with the North in 2002 and 2010 will take place at the Daejeon National Cemetery on Friday. Since 2016, the government has designated the fourth Friday of March as a day to commemorate their service.

Yonhap