Seoul, March 26: South Korea conducted maritime drills on Monday to commemorate the sinking of one of its ships by the North, even as preparations for an upcoming summit between the leaders of the two tions in late April are in full swing. Around 10 ships and several aircraft were deployed in the Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea in two Koreas), a South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson told Efe news. The drills have been conducted every year since 2011 and this year marked the eighth year of the Cheon sinking incident in the Yellow Sea that had killed 46 crew members.