South Korean Navy to Launch Four-Month Pacific Cadet Training Deployment

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- A naval training unit was set to embark on a four-month cadet training deployment across the Pacific Ocean on Friday, a voyage that also aims to boost defense exchanges with partner nations, the Navy said.

The Navy's Cruise Training Task Group, including more than 140 cadets, will depart aboard the 4,500-ton ROKS Hansando training ship from Changwon, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on a training mission scheduled to run through Jan. 22, the Navy said.

The voyage will span over 50,000 kilometers, with the vessel due to make port calls across several locations, including stops in Hawaii, Guam, Guatemala, Panama, Peru and Fiji.

During the deployment, the cadets will undergo core training, such as combat readiness drills, damage control and hands-on equipment operations. They will also visit key foreign military installations and tour historical battlefields, the Navy said.

The task group also plans to use the deployment to promote military exchanges with the partner countries in the Pacific and South America and host commemorative events for Korean War veterans and their families in the regions.

This year's deployment features the task group's first-ever port call to the U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, as well as its first visits to Peru and Chile in 14 years, the Navy said.