South Korea to Participate in Joint Multinational Drills With US, Thailand - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korea will take part in the Cobra Gold large-scale multinational military drills to be jointly led by Thailand and the United States, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing South Korean officials.

The exercise will be held in different parts of Thailand from February 26 to March 8. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan are also expected to participate in the training, which will include landing operations, jungle warfare practice, underwater construction exercise, cyberdefense training and humanitarian operations, with the latter expected to be joined by China and India, the report said.

South Korea's No Jeok Bong landing ship with about 330 service members on board will leave a Busan naval base and head to Thailand later on Wednesday, Yonhap reported.

The first Cobra Gold drills was held in 1982. The exercise is designed to improve coordination between participating nations in both military and humanitarian efforts.