SKorea conducts large anti terror drill

SEOUL

South Korea has conducted a military drill to counter any possible North Korean terrorist attacks as part of a broader ongoing annual military exercise with the United States.

South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted officials as saying Tuesday that that the military drill -- involving police, government officials and private experts -- was conducted at a football stadium some 302 kilometers (188 miles) south of Seoul.

"If a terrorist attack occurs at facilities used by many people such as stadiums, the damage is expected to be huge," Gen. Park Chan-ju, commander of the 2nd Operations Command, was reported to have said.

"We need to actively prepare for such a situation in an aggressive manner."

The drill involves around 250 personnel and military assets including 21 helicopters,

Officials said it was aimed at building capacity to counter terrorist attacks in non-frontline areas in a speedy manner.

On Monday, South Korea and the U.S kicked off a two-week annual joint military exercise, which North Korea claimed was a rehearsal for invading the reclusive state.

As the exercise began Monday, Yonhap reported Pyongyang as threatening a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the allies.

South Korea and the U.S. "should bear in mind that if they show the slightest sign of aggression on [North Korea’s] inviolable land, seas and air... it would turn the stronghold of provocation into a heap of ashes through Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike," the General Staff of the North’s Korean People's Army said.

The drill will run to Sept. 2, and involves about 75,000 troops, with 25,000 from the U.S.

Since the 1950-53 Korean War -- which ended in an armistice, with neither North nor South Korea able to claim victory -- both countries have regularly accused the other of violating the agreement.

The accusations have become more frequent, however, as tensions have risen over North Korea's nuclear program.

The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, the armistice watchdog, is also participating in the drill as an observer.