The South Korean military, police, and emergency workers participated in rarely-seen defense exercises on Wednesday, December 27. The drills mimicked an assault by North Korea on Seoul.
The purpose of these exercises was to alleviate concerns that the city is within striking distance of Pyongyang's weaponry and covert attack strategy.
The drill takes place amid heightened tension after the North Korean government's launch of its first military spy satellite and the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Meanwhile, South Korea has recently resumed certain military initiatives that were scaled back after an agreement was signed in 2018.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (C) attends a civil defense drill against possible artillery attacks by North Korea, in a subway station in Seoul on August 23, 2023.
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In Case of Surprise Assault
"There was a big lesson for us when Israel's world-class advanced [defense] system helplessly buckled under a surprise attack by Hamas armed with conventional artillery and primitive means," said Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-Hoon, as reported by Reuters.
The extremist group's cross-border rampage across cities in Israel on October 7 demonstrated that superior military capabilities did not matter much if the enemy conducted a successful surprise strike, according to him. That rampage resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people at the time and the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
A large water supply facility, telephone network stations, and an underground communications and power cable corridor were all targets of imitation assaults during the exercises that took place on Wednesday.
Oh went on to say that Seoul's proximity to the military border with the North, which is just 38 kilometers (24 miles) away, makes it especially vulnerable to an incident at any moment. With an additional 1.4 million individuals who work and attend school there daily, the highly populated center of government, business, and finance is home to 9.4 million people.
Oh has taken a harsh stance against North Korea, stating that, to neutralize the danger posed by Pyongyang, the South must acquire nuclear weapons.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, on the other hand, has said that he does not want to acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, he has made it a top priority to strengthen a military alliance with the United States and to restore security to Japan.
In other news, eight North Koreans associated with nuclear and missile programs were sanctioned further by South Korea on the same day as the exercises.
The Korean Conflict
Since the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, there has not been a frontal assault on Seoul. However, there have been clashes at sea between the two nations, and the North attacked one of the South's islands, which resulted in the deaths of several people on both sides.
Following the successful launch of its first military spy satellite in November, the North conducted a test of its newest ballistic missile this month. In September, the country's constitution was revised to establish the use of nuclear weapons as a national defense strategy.
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