South Korean Navy and Marines Corps will take part in a U.S.-led multinational military exercise to be held next month in Thailand, the Navy said here Thursday.

Some 320 South Korean troops, an armored amphibious vehicle and a 2,600-ton landing ship tank will join six other countries, including the United States, Thailand and Japan, for the Cobra Gold exercise slated for Feb. 5-17.

The troops will participate in a field training exercise, a command post exercise and a humanitarian and civic assistance action project, the Navy said in a statement.

The annual joint drill, in which South Korea served as an observer member state between 2002-2009, is designed to help improve multinational interoperability and strengthen military partnerships among the participants.

Among the nine observers this year are China, Russia and New Zealand.