Triple Security Guard Protects APEC Summit
Triple Security Guard Protects APEC Summit
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  • 승인 2005.11.01 12:01
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Korea's Security Preparedness Gets the Green Light "We are prepared for even a one percent possibility of a terrorist attack," said an official of Korea's National Intelligence Service who is part of the Security Guard Control Team for the 2005 APEC summit conference in Busan. He added, "We are thoroughly prepared for such an attack, not only on the summit of 21 participating countries, but also the public facilities such as subway, bus, and railways." On September 1, in order to prevent a possible terrorist attack against Busan APEC meetings, the Security Guard Control Team was organized as a government organization, which is composed of the officials from the Cheong Wa Dae Bodyguard Office, NIS (National Intelligence Service), National Police Agency, Ministry of National Defense, and National Emergency Management Agency. According to the NIS official, the counter terrorist activities cover two categories: One is to protect the summit of 21 countries and meeting-related facilities, and the other for public facilities including subways, buses, and department stores. The Korean government has deployed about 46,000 security force members, thus enforcing a triple security guard system in an effort to thoroughly guard the APEC meeting place of BEXCO (Busan Exhibition and Convention Center), Nuri Maru APEC house, and the hotels for the summit. The Bodyguard Office of Cheong Wa Dae is in charge of the security guard for the summit of participating nations, the second line guards - 500 meters from the meeting places and hotels - are to be deployed by the police forces, and the third line guards - 1.5 km from the meeting places and hotels - are to be dispatched by the military. In particular, the UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) is to be deployed under the seas surrounding the Nuri Maru of the 2nd summit-meeting place in Dongbaek Island. Also, flights over the Haeundae area will be prohibited, while the air force fighters will be patrolling the skies above the venue. In addition, the rooftops of many high-rise buildings and the mountains surrounding the meeting places will be thoroughly monitored by the military troops and police forces for possible emergency cases. It is reported that the U.S. CIA officials who visited Korea commented that Korea's preparedness for the security guard is satisfactory. Moreover, another concern is that the terrorists will try to attack soft targets such as subways, buses, and railways instead of the hard targets including the key personalities or government buildings. In fact, the 9/11 terrorists attack against the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, the railroad attack in Madrid, Spain in March 2004, and the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London targeted their public facilities. With regard to this, the CIA has informed Korea that an al Qaeda agent arrested in Iraq last July had stated, "The next targets are Korea and Australia." In July the government decided to deploy military troops in the subways of major cities including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Incheon, and equip those subways with more surveillance cameras. Moreover, in the case of Busan's subway, citizen voluntary safety teams are to be deployed. However, as both Seoul and Busan have more than 400 subway stations and over 10,000 buses, it is not easy to check every nook and cranny. An official of the NIS said, "In case of a large-scale international event like APEC, it is very difficult to secure safety without citizens' cooperation, and so we hope that citizens will inform us immediately by means of calling 111, 112, and 119, if they discover suspicious persons or things."

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