The U.S. and South Korean navies conducted a nine-day mine exercise in waters near a southern port city this month, the ROK navy announced Tuesday, appearing to train to remove North Korean mines and use mines against the DPRK in wartime.

The navy said that the drills kicked off last Monday near the South Korean city of Pohang and were designed to practice protocols for joint mine warfare missions.

“Through practical training, we were able to improve the joint operation capability to protect major ports and maritime routes from the threat of complex enemy mines in emergency situations,” said Colonel