South Korea tests war readiness against heat and river pollution

South Korea's annual Eulji exercise, scheduled for Aug. 18-21, includes heat protections for participants facing forecast highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius and a simulated diesel spill into the Nakdong River.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to involve about 32,000 people. Its programme includes emergency call-up and wartime-transition procedures, tabletop drills for security threats based on new technologies, and field exercises against GPS disruption and drone threats at nationally important facilities.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has told every institution to adjust outdoor sessions' timing and intensity once a heat advisory is in force, and provide water, shade, air-conditioned spaces and breaks. A heat warning calls for shorter or smaller sessions, changed hours or a switch indoors. At the highest heat alert, outdoor training in an affected area should in principle stop; people must be moved immediately to safety if conditions cannot be secured. Kim Kwang-yong, head of the ministry's Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters, said, "Participants' safety must come first even in heatwave conditions."

On Aug. 19, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will conduct a joint oil-spill response drill near Samunjin Bridge in Dalseong County, Daegu. Its scenario starts with enemy drone bombing that damages Seongju Bridge, overturning a passing tanker and sending about 2,000 litres of diesel into the Nakdong River. Participants will rescue people, deploy oil booms and absorbent pads, and take samples. Kim Eun-kyung, director general for water environment policy, said, "A complete emergency pollution-response posture is very important," because the river is a major drinking-water source for residents of the Yeongnam region.