SEOUL — The Seoul city government will hold a regularly scheduled civil defense warning exercise Wednesday from abouty 2 to 2:20 p.m., which will include air raid sirens and movement of civilians into underground shelters, according to U.S. Forces Korea.

The drill also will include a dozen South Korean fighter jets flying across the country to simulate an air raid, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

Tensions have heightened on the peninsula since North Korea’s bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island, which killed four people. Civil defense exercises are held monthly, though they do not typically involve aircraft and attract little attention.

Drivers within the city are expected to pull to the right side of the road and stop, and people will be directed into underground facilities, according to USFK officials.

Entry gates at USFK installations in Seoul will be closed during the exercise, however, base schools will dismiss as normal, according to a statement posted on USFK’s website.

USFK troops are expected to carry gas masks, and family members “are encouraged to account for their protective masks and report shortfalls to their chain of command,” the statement said. South Korean military and police will carry protective masks.

For more information, call Yongsan’s Garrison Installation Operations Center at DSN 738-7292, 7293, or 7294.

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