PM calls for building emergency preparedness amid N. Korea threats

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called Friday for building the government's emergency preparedness amid North Korea's evolving threats. Han issued the call during a meeting with central and local government leaders convened to assess the results of last month's four-day Ulchi civil defense exercise. "The government must have the emergency preparedness capacity to promptly respond in any circumstance to protect the people's lives and safety from the ever intensifying threats from North Korea," he said, instructing officials to immediately address any flaws in warning systems and evacuation facilities that were revealed through the exercise. The annual drill took place from Aug. 19-22, involving some 580,000 people at over 4,000 central and local government agencies and public institutions. The drills were designed to train the government in responding to wartime scenarios, as well as North Korean provocations such as cyberattacks, GPS jamming and launches of trash-filled balloons. In particular, this year's e xercise included simulations of a North Korean nuclear attack for the first time. The exercise first began in 1968 following a raid by North Korean commandos on the presidential residence in Seoul. Source: Yonhap News Agency