This year’s Ulchi civil emergency drill will return to full scale for the first time in years after the exercise was downsized due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Wednesday that the 54th edition of the exercise, which runs for four days starting August 22, will mobilize some 480-thousand people from four-thousand organizations across the country, including municipal offices and public agencies.

The annual civil defense drill is designed to check the country's readiness for war and other emergencies.

The planned drill will include training to restore buildings and telecommunications facilities in the event of a North Korean missile or terror attack and to counter cyber hacking attempts and GPS jamming.