220,000 to be evacuated in event of NK invasion of S.Korea

U.S. forces stationed in South Korea will immediately evacuate 220,000 Americans and the nationals of allied nations from South Korea in the event of contingencies such as a North Korean invasion.

According to the latest issue of the U.S. military daily Stars and Stripes, a source from the U.S. Forces Korea explained a non-combatant evacuation operation exercise and said the number of Americans and citizens of allied nations to be evacuated from South Korea in the event of a North Korean invasion is presumed to be 220,000.

“(If the non-combatant evacuation operation is implemented), we don’t know how many civilians we should evacuate, but the number is 220,000 according to our plan,” he said, adding, “We are fully aware of the difficulty of this mission, so we are conducting the drill every year.”

Fourteen non-combatant evacuation operations have been conducted around the world over the past six decades, including one in the Korean War in 1950.

A source from the South Korean armed forces said, “Those included in the operation are assumed to be 140,000 American citizens and 80,000 citizens of U.S. allies,” adding, “American citizens, such as families of U.S. forces in South Korea, civilian workers in the military and government officials as well as citizens of U.S. allies seem to be included.”

U.S. forces in South Korea conduct the drill twice a year to evacuate Americans from the South and bring them to the U.S. via Japan. In the drill, 30 to 50 applicants are chosen from families of U.S. forces and civilian workers in the military; their identities are checked by the evacuation control center located in the U.S. base in Seoul`s Yongsan district; they are evacuated to Japan through transportation aircraft and ships then sent to the U.S.; and are eventually returned to South Korea.

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