A variety of U.S. and Republic of Korea ships assemble off the coast of the ROK for exercise Ssang Yong 16, March 8, 2016. Ssang Yong 16 is a biennial combined amphibious exercise conducted by forward-deployed U.S. forces with the Republic of Korea Navy and Marine Corps, Australian Army and Royal

19 ships which took part in US and South Korean drills.

More than 15,000 U.S. and 300,000 South Korean troops have kicked off simultaneous joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula aimed at countering North Korean aggression.