The Navy will conduct on Wednesday this year’s first firing and maritime maneuvering drills in the East Sea, Yellow Sea and the Korea Strait. 

The Navy announced on Wednesday that it will carry out the training to boost military readiness with the determination to strongly respond to enemy provocations amid stern security situations, including North Korea’s threats to engage in provocation. 

The drills will see the participation of destroyers such as the 25-hundred-ton Gangwon, the 450-ton Kim Soo-hyun, the 32-hundred-ton Ulchi Moonduk and the 28-hundred ton Cheonan, among others. 

Wednesday will mark the first time for the Cheonan to participate in a firing drill in the Yellow Sea since being reborn as a state-of-the-art frigate after 13 years and being deployed to the Second Fleet last month. 

The military said the goal of the drills is to secure combat readiness via intense training that corresponds with key missions and the operational environment of all sea areas. 

The Navy apparently planned such large-scale training to assert its intent to respond to provocations amid rising military tensions between the two Koreas.