ANKARA

The South Korean Navy said Thursday that it conducted maritime drills this week in waters off the country’s western and southern coasts as part of its readiness against North Korean “maritime threats," Yonhap News Agency reported.

The four-day exercise began Monday, mobilizing 20 surface ships and about a dozen aircraft from the Second and Third Fleets.

The drills were also joined by the US Forces Korea's AH-64E attack helicopters.

The Yellow Sea exercise was designed to train troops on response measures against "threats posed by North Korean special forces and submarines, as well as on logistics procedures at sea," according to the navy.

*Writing by Aamir Latif