South Korea will hold a nationwide exercise for citizens for the first time in six years on Wednesday, according to Yonhap News Agency. Air strike exercises will be conducted across the country as part of the four-day Ulchi civil defense exercise, which takes place concurrently with the combined South Korea-US military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 2023.
This is the first of its kind since August 2017. It will last 20 minutes from 14:00 local time and will include preparations for civil evacuation as well as 15-minute traffic restrictions at 216 designated locations around the country. At the same time, drills on the movement of emergency vehicles will be held.
An airstrike signal will be issued at 2:00 p.m., after which residents will have to move to the nearest bunker from 17,000 prepared locations, including private bunkers, basements of buildings, underground shopping malls and subway stations. Citizens will not be allowed to leave the shelter until 14.15, but will be able to return to their normal activities after 14.20.
Hospitals, clinics, subways, railways, planes, ships and other means of transport will operate as usual to minimize public disturbance. In addition, 57 regions declared as special disaster areas due to heavy rains in July and Typhoon Hanoun will be exempted from the exercise.
Formerly in North Korea declaration about the growing threat of “thermonuclear war”.