19 September 2017

News Story: S. Korea's underwater forces combat ready against N. Korea

By Lee Chi-dong

ABOARD LEE EOK GI SUBMARINE, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean Navy's submarine SSK Lee Eok Gi (SS-071) wobbled a bit, setting sail from the country's newest naval port on Jeju Island.

The slight odor of oil that filled the cramped, windowless diesel-electric sub made some of the strangers aboard worry about getting seasick.

"This is (like) a lake," Cdr. Kang Byung-oh, the captain of the 1,200-ton sub, told a small group of reporters in the torpedo room, which doubles as a briefing room, last week. "The waves are only about 1.5 meters high. When we came here yesterday from Jinhae (in South Gyeongang Province), they were 5 meters high."

The sub soon shifted to a "snorkel navigation" mode to operate submerged while taking in air from above the water.

The captain checked the outside of the sub via a periscope, conveying information to other crew members.

He then shouted, "Prepare for underwater navigation." The crew repeated this loudly.

The civilian visitors were asked to be quiet. A submariner explained that it's one of the most tense moments.

Read the full story at YonhapNews