South Korea has increased its security measures for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit of 21 member countries next week in Gyeongju. Large-scale field drills have been held, and a higher level of terrorism-alert is being imposed.

As international leaders gather at Gyeongju - a peaceful city famous for its heritage tourism - up to 18,500 police, SWAT and coast guard personnel, as well as anti drone jammers, armored vehicles and helicopters, will be mobilised. This year's summit is scheduled from October 31 to November 1, and the stakes will be even higher, as U.S. president Donald Trump will use it to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since returning to his White House. He'll also likely instigate a trade conflict between the two world's largest economies. Around 1,700 industry leaders from around the world, including Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang will visit the city between October 28 and October 31 for the APEC Chief Executive Summit.

In preparation for the meeting, a number of security drills were conducted on Monday. The coast guard carried out underwater searches in Bomun Lake, which is located in the middle of the Bomun Tourist Complex where the major event venues and luxurious hotels are situated.

A member of the Sea Special Attack Team said that the coast guard was stepping up patrols and surveillance in the Bomun Lake area to prevent terrorism, and other illegal activity ahead of the APEC Summit.

In order to accommodate participants, the coast guard will also implement security measures around cruise ships docked at the nearby coastal town of Pohang.

The Presidential Security Service is leading the security operations, and the army, police, coastguard, fire agency, spy agency and the military are all involved.

The government announced that the terrorism alert levels across the country will be raised to "Caution" on Friday. From October 28 to 11, the security level in North and South Gyeongsang, including Gyeongju will be increased to "Alert", which is the second-highest of the four-tiered system. Kim Min-seok, the Prime Minister of South Korea, also ordered on Friday measures to curb any hatred or discrimination towards foreigners in response to recent anti-Chinese demonstrations. (Reporting and editing by Dogyun Kim, Jihoon Lee)

(source: Reuters)