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Seoul's decision to "temporarily suspend" civilian exercises nationwide was expected since the United States and South Korea suspended their annual military exercises following the summit between President Donald Trump and the northern leader -Korean Kim Jong Un.
The streets of South Korean cities froze to the sound of antiaircraft sirens each year during the Ulchi exercises in August with cars stopping on the roads, pedestrians settling into the buildings and subway stations, and officials evacuating their offices.
Kim Boo Kyum, Minister of Interior and Security, said the suspension of civilian exercises followed the suspension of military exercises in the midst of recent changes in South-North relations. other security situations. He said the government and the army will work on the design of a new civil defense program to be launched next year that will aim to prepare people for natural disasters and terrorist attacks in the near future. more military attacks.
The Ulchi civil exercises were started in 1968, a year after an unsuccessful attempt by North Korean commandos to badbadinate South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee.
Criticism was raised about whether civilian exercises adequately prepared South Koreans for North Korean threats. For most South Koreans, there is not much training, with people standing around gathering places, looking in their phones or looking frustrated. Many schools did not participate in air raid exercises.
While South Korea has nearly 19,000 evacuation shelters, mainly in subway stations and parking garages, surveys have shown that most people did not know which shelters were the most near their place.
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