South Korea’s Military Chief Conducts Final Security Review for Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics

SEOUL - In preparation for the upcoming Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics, South Korea's top military officer conducted final security checks on Tuesday. This move is part of a comprehensive plan to ensure the safety and security of the event, which is set to commence this Friday in the eastern province of Gangwon.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Admiral Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, carried out inspections at the event's counterterrorism and safety headquarters in Gangneung, located 163 kilometers east of Seoul, and at operation command posts in Gangneung and the nearby county of Pyeongchang. The games, which will feature over 1,800 athletes from 79 countries, are scheduled to run through February 1. To bolster security measures, the military will deploy approximately 1,000 personnel tasked with conducting security and counter-terrorism operations.

According to the office of Admiral Kim, he emphasized the importance of sharing real-time information and assessing situations to actively implement counterterrorism safety measures. These measures include preemptive actions against potential terror threats, with a specific focus on the utilization of drones.

The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics will utilize many of the same venues that were part of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, also hosted across Gangwon Province. Notably, South Korea is the first non-European country to host the Winter Youth Olympics, following previous editions held in Austria, Norway, and Switzerland.