Bangkok: South Korea's Navy and Marine Corps are set to participate in the annual Cobra Gold multinational exercise in Thailand, military officials announced. The exercise is scheduled to commence later this month and will see participation from multiple nations.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Navy's 4,900-ton Nojeokbong landing ship, carrying approximately 370 personnel, has already departed for Thailand. The Cobra Gold exercise is planned to occur across 11 regions in Thailand from February 25 to March 7. The exercise is led by the Thai and U.S. armed forces, and South Korea will contribute with various military resources, including six assault amphibious vehicles, two K55 self-propelled howitzers, and a K77 fire direction center vehicle.

The South Korean troops will engage in multiple field exercises, such as amphibious landing drills alongside forces from Thailand, the United States, and Singapore, as well as joint naval operations. Additionally, the South Korean Marine Corps will participate in the Cross Dock drills for the first time, deploying their assault amphibious vehicles to Singapore's amphibious transport dock.

Cobra Gold will also include special operation drills, humanitarian civil assistance activities, and cyber defense training. Since its inception in 1982, the annual exercise has aimed to train multinational forces for a variety of operations focused on regional stabilization during virtual armed conflicts. South Korea has been a formal participant in the drills since 2010, after initially attending as an observer from 2002 to 2009.