Military clerics from South Korea and United States begin three day joint exercise

SEOUL: In a first, around 100 military chaplains from South Korea and the United States today began a three-day exercise to prepare for their wartime roles, South Korea's Defence Ministry said.

About 100 Catholic priests, Protestant pastors and Buddhist monks serving the military, as well as medics, are taking part in the joint field training exercise being held at the Special Warfare Command in Seoul, the ministry's spokesman Kim Min Seok was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.

The purpose of the exercise is to better prepare participants to help wounded soldiers or perform religious ceremonies for the dead, he added.