해군, 독도방어훈련 돌입…"명칭은 동해영토수호훈련"<br /><br />Our top story this afternoon.<br />South Korea's bi-annual maritime drills for the defense of Dokdo, the nation's easternmost island,... got underway on Sunday morning.<br />The drill aims to strengthen the protection of not only Dokdo, but all South Korean territory in the East Sea.<br />Our Hong Yoo starts us off.<br />The bi-annual maritime drill for the defense of Dokdo Island has been resumed... after being postposted in the first half of this year.<br />South Korea's Navy said the Marine Corps, Air Force and the Coast Guard are also participating in this drill... that will last until Monday.<br />This comes four days after the South Korean government announced that it would not renew its military-information sharing agreement with Japan.<br />The defense exercise, which was originally scheduled for June, was postponed due to concerns that it might worsen the country's relationship with Tokyo.<br />The government first mulled over resuming the drill last month,... in response to Japan's export curbs on South Korea. <br />However, it was rescheduled in consideration of weather conditions in the East Sea... and South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises slated for the second half of the year.<br />Analysts saw the timing of the drill's resumption... as an attempt to maintain strategic ambiguity.<br />The size of the exercise has also grown compared to the previous year according to a military official.<br />In consideration of the drill's significance and size, the military named it the 'East Sea territory defense exercise,'... reflecting its determination to defend the country's territories in the East Sea. <br />Hong Yoo, Arirang News. <br />
