SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan started two-day trilateral naval drills on Thursday in waters south of the Korean Peninsula as North Korea bristled at the exercise as a "reckless provocation."

   The maneuvers off the southern island of Jeju are aimed at improving interoperability and communications between the navies of the three nations to facilitate cooperative disaster relief and maritime security activities, officials said.





The exercise is being staged beyond the territorial waters of any coastal nation, officials said.