South Korea's military said Wednesday that it sent reinforcement troops to western border islands near the tense sea border with North Korea in a drill aimed at countering Pyongyang's relentless provocations.

   The regular exercise has been held since 2011, a year after North Korea sank a South Korean warship that resulted in the deaths of 46 sailors.

   The Navy and the Marine Corps' quick maneuver force of 4,000 troops took part in the drill, being sent to the border islands on Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and Navy air-cushion vehicles, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

   The border islands include the country's northernmost Baengnyeong Island and Yeongpyeong Island that was shelled by North Korea in 2010.

   The military has conducted regular drills in the region to counter "unpredictable" provocations from the North since the torpedoing of the Cheonan corvette and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island that resulted in four deaths. (Yonhap)