South Korea and Japan will conduct a two-day joint naval exercise off the east coast of the South Korean city of Busan starting Saturday, the South Korean Navy said Monday. The seventh Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) between South Korean Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is aimed at coordinating joint response to maritime incidents and is of peaceful and humanitarian nature, the Navy said in a statement. A handful of destroyers, helicopters and patrol ships will be mobilized. The drill was launched in 1999.