Having spent $620 million over ten years building a new base, south Korea has moved the 2nd Fleet, which defends the west coast, from Inchon to Pyongtaek 60km south of Inchon. The old base at Inchon was considered too crowded (Pyongtaek can handle 120 vessels at a time) and so close to North Korea that a conventional surprise attack was a real danger. The 1st Fleet (east coast) is based at Tonghae and the 3rd Fleet (south coast) is based at Chinhae. The South Korean Navy has just received the 730-ton minehunter Yangyang-ham. This ship is the first of a new batch of seven on order.--Stephen V Cole