The navies of South Korea and the United States kicked off a four-day joint naval exercise Tuesday to enhance their readiness against potential military provocations by North Korea.

The joint maritime exercise, scheduled from Tuesday to Friday, is part of the ongoing Foal Eagle annual field training exercise the allies launched two weeks ago.

Some 50 naval vessels and submarines from both countries joined the exercise in the Yellow and East seas, according to the Navy here.

A group of South Korean and U.S. military aircraft are also participating in the exercise involving special maritime operations, as well as live-fire drills against mock hostile submarines, aircraft and warships.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) has also been mobilized in the East Sea as part of the exercise, the Navy added.

Separately, the navies carried out a four-day joint exercise last week on maritime traffic protection.

A total of 13 navy vessels and seaborne aircraft joined the training, including the USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), a U.S. guided-missile cruiser, and South Korea's frigate Jeonbuk.

Following the ongoing exercise, they will conduct another set of exercises until early April in order to bolster their combined capability to deal with sea mine warfare and rescue operations, the Navy said. (Yonhap)