South Korea and the United States are to hold joint anti-submarine drills off the west coast of the Korean peninsula starting from Sunday. Seoul's semi-official Yonhap News Agency quoting military sources said, the five-day joint exercises will be held in waters near the tense maritime border between North Korea and South Korea, where a South Korean warship sank in March due to a suspected torpedo attack by Pyongyang. It said the joint exercises are likely to keep a relatively low- profile this time without participation of aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines. The reported decision to scale down the drills comes after China and North Korea protested the planned combined military maneuvers by Seoul and Washington, criticizing them for raising regional tension. In July, Seoul and Washington staged massive four-day joint exercises in waters east of the divided peninsula in response to the alleged attack, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.

South Korea and the United States are to hold joint anti-submarine drills off the west coast of the Korean peninsula starting from Sunday. Seoul's semi-official Yonhap News Agency quoting military sources said, the five-day joint exercises will be held in waters near the tense maritime border between North Korea and South Korea, where a South Korean warship sank in March due to a suspected torpedo attack by Pyongyang. It said the joint exercises are likely to keep a relatively low- profile this time without participation of aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines. The reported decision to scale down the drills comes after China and North Korea protested the planned combined military maneuvers by Seoul and Washington, criticizing them for raising regional tension. In July, Seoul and Washington staged massive four-day joint exercises in waters east of the divided peninsula in response to the alleged attack, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.