S. Korea changes closing ceremony venue of joint submarine rescue drill
SEOUL/SEOGWIPO, South Korea, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Navy said Wednesday it has decided to change the venue of the closing ceremony of a joint multinational submarine exercise it is hosting for the next several days, apparently due to strong opposition from local residents.
The Pacific Reach 2016, which involves the United States, Japan and other Asian Pacific countries, kicked off here on Wednesday for a 10-day run in the waters off South Korea's naval port of Jinhae on the southeastern edge of the Korean Peninsula as well as around Jeju Island.
At the end of the exercise, the submarines were planning to enter the Navy's new base on Jeju Island for a closing ceremony, but the venue has changed to Jinhae. If they entered Jeju, it would have been the first port call there by any foreign ship since the base opened in February.
Civic groups, environmental activists and some residents in the village near the new base have been staging protests against the construction of the new military facility and are still opposed to it, citing potential environmental damage to the area.
The exercise is the seventh of its kind since the multilateral event was launched in 2000 in Singapore. This is the second time South Korea is leading the drill after playing host in 2004.
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