U.S. anti-submarine aircraft flew to S. Korea in late March

It has been confirmed that a P-8 Poseidon, the U.S. Navy`s state-of-the-art anti-submarine surveillance aircraft, was sent to South Korea for a combined anti-submarine exercise on March 31, when North Korea provoked the South with a live-fire drill near the Northern Limit Line (NLL). It was the first time that a P-8A Poseidon came to South Korea. The aircraft is also known to have carried out a surveillance mission on North Korea with regards to the North Korean military`s live-fire provocation.

According to the South Korean military authorities Friday, the P-8A Poseidon conducted a combined anti-submarine drill with the South Korean Navy`s P-3C surveillance aircraft from March 27 to 31. "The P-8A Poseidon carried out a submarine detecting drill and a supporting mission for the joint landing exercise by 12,500 South Korean and U.S. marines in the Pohang area, North Gyeongsang Province," said a South Korean military official. He added that when the North Korean military fired about 500 rounds of artillery shells toward the NLL, the U.S. aircraft conducted a surveillance mission for the North`s possible additional provocation. "I understand that (the South Korean and the U.S. military authorities) prepared for the possibility that the North will infiltrate submersibles to the South Korean waters to target South Korean naval vessels after the live-fire provocation," another military source in Seoul said.

The U.S. deployed six P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan last December in an attempt to strengthen its forces in the Asia-Pacific region. It was the first time that P-8A Poseidon was deployed outside of the mainland U.S. The P-8A Poseidon that was sent to the South also flew from Kadena.

Another South Korean military official said that P-8A Poseidon will be frequently deployed to the South, as strong signs have been detected that the North will likely use semi-submersibles to attack a South Korean naval ship.