Security Beefed Up For Start Of Olympics In South Korea
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - South Korea's government reportedly has banned 36 thousand foreigners from entering the country for the Winter Olympics because of security issues.
The games officially start on Friday in one of the most tense areas of the world, just 50 miles from the North Korean border.
In the host city of Pyeongchang, security forces are coming up with strategies to keep everyone safe.
They've been training for a number of scenarios. Such as a terrorist has taken athletes hostage and is about to ram a vehicle into an Olympic stadium. Or, a chemical bomb explodes in a trash can or a drone carrying explosives needs to be shot out of the sky.
A law enforcement command center has opened in the city to monitor security during the games. Overall, South Korea is mobilizing a more than 60-thousand person Olympic security force, including 50,000 soldiers. That include South Korean marines and their American counterparts.
"We've covered reconnaissance skills as well as critical combat skills in a cold weather mountainous environment," said U.S. Marine Captain Thomas Rigby.
Of course, one of the biggest concerns is North Korea.
In 1987, ten months before South Korea held the Summer Olympics in Seoul, North Korean agents placed a bomb on Korean Air flight, killing all 115 people on board.
The U.S. and South Korea delayed their annual military exercises so as not to provoke North Korea. North Korea's decision to send a large delegation to the games is thought to have reduced the chances that it will disrupt the event with a missile launch or nuclear test.
Another concern is that of a massive cyber attack that could disrupt the games. North Korea is well known for its cyber warfare skills. South Korea has hired a private cybersecurity firm to prevent that kind of an attack.
