INS Sahyadri at Busan has opened the second edition of the India and Republic of Korea Navy (IN-RoKN) Bilateral Exercise, after the Indian frigate sailed into Busan Naval Harbour on Monday.

The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) gave the ship a warm welcome, the Indian Navy said.

INS Sahyadri at Busan begins the harbour phase

With INS Sahyadri at Busan, the exercise opens in harbour. Sailors of the two navies will hold professional interactions, cross-deck visits and cross-training sessions, and the crews will also meet on the sports field. According to the Navy, these activities will help both sides share operational experience and best practices. The Commanding Officer of INS Sahyadri will call on senior RoKN officials during the stay.

Then the ships go to sea.

ROKS Munmu the Great to sail with Sahyadri in the sea phase

At sea, INS Sahyadri will carry out coordinated maritime activities with the Korean destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great. The Navy said the sea phase will improve operational coordination between the two ships and help the navies work together more smoothly.

The Korean warship is named after King Munmu, a seventh century ruler of the Silla kingdom.

First IN-RoKN exercise was held at Busan in October 2025

This is the second time the two navies are holding the exercise, and the venue and the Indian ship are the same as last year. The inaugural IN-RoKN Bilateral Exercise began after INS Sahyadri reached Busan on 13 October 2025, during a deployment to the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific. That edition also had a harbour phase followed by drills at sea with a RoKN frigate.

The navy exercise is one part of a wider set of contacts. India and the Republic of Korea run several bilateral mechanisms covering the armed services, defence policy and defence industry, according to the Embassy of India in Seoul. Last month, the India Korea Joint Committee on defence industries and logistics held its tenth meeting in New Delhi. Earlier this month, the Indian Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard met for their 14th High Level Meeting at Incheon.

Sahyadri sailed to Korea from Exercise INDRA in Vladivostok

The frigate reached Korea from Russia. It left Vladivostok on 20 October after Exercise INDRA 2026 concluded with the Russian Federation Navy.

Before that, INS Sahyadri spent late September at Subic Bay in the Philippines with the corvette INS Kulish. The two ships took part in the ADMM-Plus maritime security activity there and then joined the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, AIME-2026.

Third Shivalik class frigate, commissioned in 2012

INS Sahyadri is the third ship of the Shivalik class of guided missile stealth frigates. It was designed and built in India by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai and was commissioned in 2012. The ship is based at Visakhapatnam and serves with the Eastern Fleet.