Seoul, May 19 (IANS): South Korea's naval forces on Tuesday carried out an elaborate military drill in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to test its naval defence capabilities in the face of an attack from neighbouring North Korea, Efe news agency reported.

The exercise included the guided launches of the indigenous Haeseong-1 anti-ship missile with a range of 150 km, and Harpoon, a US projectile with a similar range.

Twenty ships, including several destroyers and submarines, an anti-submarine Lynx helicopter and several K-5 and KF-16 fighter planes took part.

"The goal is to test our ability to conduct joint military operations against possible provocations by North Korea made near the Northern Limit Line (NLL)," the South Korean Navy said in a statement.

The NLL, separating the waters of the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea, is a high conflict zone where the two countries have clashed more than once.

The exercise occurred amid high tension between the two Koreas after Kim Jong-un's regime last week carried out artillery trials in the vicinity of the South Korean border in the Yellow Sea.

The two countries have remained enemies since the Korean War (1950-53), which ended with an armistice and no definitive peace treaty.