VLADIVOSTOK. Jan 29 (Interfax-AVN) - A joint exercise of Russian and South Korean Navies will take place in the Pacific Ocean in early February, an official of the Russian Pacific Fleet's press service said on Thursday.
"The exercise will follow a visit of a Pacific Fleet ship detachment to the South Korean port of Inchon. It will focus on maneuvering, arrangement of communication, and rescue of a ship in distress," the official told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Russian and South Korean military sailors already have experience in joint actions, he stressed. "A similar joint exercise involving South Korea's Ylchi Mundok destroyer took place last year in the framework of the Rusian Navy's Vostok 2003 command post exercise," he said.
The Pacific Fleet flagship Varyag, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, and the small anti-submarine ship Koreyets will depart from Vladivostok on February 4 for the South Korean port of Inchon, formerly Chemulpo.
During their stay in South Korea, they will attend celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Varyag Battle. The Varyag cruiser (Commander Captain Rudnev) and the Koreyets gunboat, after a long and furious battle with outnumbering enemy on January 27 Julian (February 9 Gregorian), 1904 (in the course of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905), were destroyed by their crews in order not to surrender. The Varyag was sunk and the Koreyets was exploded.
A cathedral was built in Vladivostok in honor of the sailors killed in the battle. In addition, a monument to low-ranking personnel of the Varyag was erected at the city's Naval Cemetery.
During the visit, Russian sailors will give honors to their killed fellows on the scene of the battle, the official said.