US to hold evacuation drill for citizens in South Korea

The US plans to hold an evacuation exercise for non-combatant US citizens in South Korea in June.

Soldiers evacuate US citizens from South Korea during the Courageous Channel exercise in 2016. Photo: Yonhap.

The regular Courageous Channel exercise, which involves operations to help evacuate some 230,000 US citizens in South Korea in case of conflict, is scheduled to take place in June, Yonhap quoted military sources as saying today.

The exercise, led by the 19th Expeditionary Corps Command (ESC 19) in Daegu, 302 km south of Seoul, is the most realistic, with participants being flown out of the Korean Peninsula, according to ESC 19.

Courageous Channel was first held in 2009. The most recent exercise lasted from October 31 to November 3, 2016, after North Korea's fifth nuclear test.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been rising recently over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. North Korea is believed to be planning a sixth nuclear test around important anniversaries in April, including the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army on April 25.

Exercise Courageous Channel 2016

According to VNE