Ministry to discuss safety of residents near USFK range

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it will hold a town hall meeting with people who live close to a major US Forces Korea shooting range.

The session, the first of its kind in four months, will be held at the city hall of Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, later in the day, and will be joined by Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk, Pocheon Mayor Kim Jong-chun and the US Eighth Army Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal. Around 50 residents also plan to attend.

Suh will brief them on the results of a joint probe carried out by the South's military and USFK into the latest known accident involving the city's Rodriguez Live Fire Range, 30 kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone.

Villagers set fire to straw bundles in front of the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in protest against stray bullets from the range. (Yonhap)
An unidentified shell fell on the boiler room of a civilian house next to the range in late November. It destroyed the ceiling but no one was hurt.

Residents near the Rodriguez range have long been anxious about their safety amid frequent reports of such accidents involving stray shells.

"There will be a briefing on steps the Ministry of National Defense and the Eighth Army have taken so far for the safety of residents," the ministry said.

The two sides will also establish an organization for relevant "systemic measures," it added. (Yonhap)

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