La paz: South Korea has carried out an emergency response drill in Bolivia as part of efforts to ensure the protection of its nationals in the South American country amid political instability ahead of Bolivia's election, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The drill was held at the South Korean Embassy in Bolivia from Monday through Tuesday, in cooperation with South Korea's National Police Agency and private experts, to bolster crisis preparedness and assess protection measures for Korean nationals, the ministry said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the exercise came amid growing political unrest in Bolivia ahead of its presidential election scheduled for November, including an attempted military coup in June last year and deadly clashes during protests last month. The drill was aimed at assessing the coordination and responsiveness of the rapid response system among the foreign ministry, overseas missions, and relevant government agencies.
The team also met with Bolivian police and fire chiefs in an area with a high concentration of South Korean residents, requesting close cooperation from Bolivian authorities in the event of an emergency, the ministry added.