South Korea holds air raid drill ahead of North’s satellite launch

South Korea held the first air raid exercise in six years on Wednesday, as North Korea prepares to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite, local media reported.

Civil defense sirens went off across the country and 216 vehicles were mobilized, simulating evacuation of civilians during emergency situations, said Seoul-based Yonhap News.

Around 480 multiuse facilities took part in the drill, however, hospitals along with subway, train, aircraft, and ferry services functioned without disruption.

The drill was not conducted in the 57 regions that were labeled as special disaster zones last month due to heavy rainfall and Typhoon Khanun.

Roughly 17,000 sites, which encompass places like basement areas of apartments and subway stations, were assigned as shelters for the purpose of defense drills in the previous year.

The 20-minute drill was an element of the four-day Ulchi civil defense training, coinciding with a combined military maneuver involving South Korea and the US, known as the Ulchi Freedom Shield.