Korea joins U.S.-Thailand marine corps exercise

Marines from South Korea, the United States and Thailand jointly carried out large-scale landing drills on the Thai beach of Hat Yao as part of the Cobra Gold military exercise, the Marine Corps here said Friday.

South Korea mobilized the 4,900-ton Cheon Wang Bong-class amphibious landing ship along with eight amphibious assault vehicles and one tank for the trilateral drills. About 440 marine and navy forces joined as well.

Another 400 forces joined from the U.S and Thailand, along with three warships, 16 landing vehicles and 14 combat airplanes, according to the Marine Corps.

The drills were designed to boost multinational forces' capacities to carry out peacekeeping operations and it conducted a scenario in which the combined forces infiltrated the enemy's shore to help land large-scale amphibious forces, the Marine Corps said.

First launched in 1981, the U.S.-Thailand exercise has engaged an increasing number of regional participants to build regional war readiness through drills, including staff exercises and humanitarian and civil action projects.

In this year's gathering, some 7,900 forces will also take part from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. (Yonhap)