SOUTH KOREA: Seoul conducts anti-terror drill, amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula

Record ID: 351889

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Seoul conducts anti-terror drill, amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula
  • Date: 2nd June 2010
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 1, 2010) (REUTERS) HELICOPTER FLYING OVER BUILDING VARIOUS OF SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIERS COMING DOWN FROM HELICOPTER VIA ROPE SOLDIERS ON STANDBY VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS ENTERING BUILDING BY CRASHING WINDOW WHILE BOMB EXPLORING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN MAJOR NAM SANG-WOOK SAYING: "Since the Cheonan incident, we are fully engaged in all the
  • Embargoed: 17th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA3WR81OXJJBASS30GF7XJP49QS
  • Story Text: South Korea staged an anti-terror exercise on Tuesday (June 1), amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula over the sinking of a naval ship that killed 46 sailors.
    The South Korean army demonstrated the military exercises to actively deal with increasing danger of attacks, since the South officially accused the North of the sinking, provoking conflict between the two Koreas.
    About 50 soldiers were mobilized along with one helicopter and dozens of vehicles in this drill, to cope with the hypothetical scenario of a terrorist hijacking a building with important facilities and a bus with passengers. The exercise was conducted at a military base in Seoul.
    "Since the Cheonan incident, we are fully engaged in all the exercises with our best. This drill will train us to immediately respond and handle provocations by any enemy in Seoul," said South Korean Major Nam Sang-wook.
    North Korea has warned of war if the South imposes sanctions as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has pledged. Blistering rhetoric from both sides in the past two weeks has unnerved investors in Asia's fourth-largest economy, worried a major military conflict could erupt.
    The two sides are still technically at war decades after the 1950-53 civil conflict which ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.
    The drill is also a part of preparations for the Group of 20 (G-20) Summit, which will be held in Seoul in November. Finance ministers from 20 countries will gather to discuss major global financial issues.
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