A US Marines Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) (back) sails towards the shore during the "Ssangyong 2023 Exercise" joint landing operation by US and ROK's Marines in the south-eastern port of Pohang on March 29, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan began a two-day naval exercise in international waters south of the ROK, officials said on Monday.

The trilateral search-and-rescue exercise will be held in seven years since 2016 to practice procedures such as rapid rescue, and emergency patient treatment and transportation in the event of a marine accident, the ROK's ministry added

The anti-submarine and search-and-rescue exercise will be staged from Monday to Tuesday in international waters south of the ROK's southern island of Jeju, according to the ROK's Ministry of National Defense.

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The ROK mobilized three destroyers and one combat support ship, the United States engaged the USS Nimitz nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, along with USS Wayne E Meyer and USS Decatur destroyers, and Japan sent JS Umigiri destroyer.

It marks the first trilateral anti-submarine exercise in six months since September 2022, the ROK's ministry said.

The trilateral search-and-rescue exercise will be held in seven years since 2016 to practice procedures such as rapid rescue, and emergency patient treatment and transportation in the event of a marine accident, the ministry added.

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The Korean Central News Agency, the state news agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, issued a commentary on Sunday, lashing out at the Freedom Shield and other US-ROK joint military exercises since mid-March, as well as the US-Japan-ROK trilateral naval drill.