US forces begin civilian evacuation drills in South Korea on October 23, 2017. (Photo: Army.mil)
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The 5-day drill aims to prepare the USFK for a mass evacuation involving the families of around 20,000 troops who, in the event of a crisis, would have to be evacuated in a matter of days to the US base in Okinawa, Japan. The crisis could be a natural event, such as an earthquake, or a man-made problem, such as the outbreak of a conflict or civil unrest.
The drills took place in the context of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang successively launched missiles and carried out its 6th nuclear test.