Moon calls for swift efforts to put out wildfire in eastern coastal county

SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in on Friday instructed officials to make efforts to swiftly put out a wildfire in the eastern coastal county of Uljin while placing top priority on preventing casualties and ensuring the safety of firefighters.

Moon made the remarks after he was briefed about the wildfire that broke out in Uljin earlier in the day, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement.

The wildfire prompted authorities to issue a natural disaster alert while trying to make sure the blaze does not pose a threat to a nuclear power plant in the area.

Moon urged authorities to place top priority on "preventing casualties and making utmost efforts to take safety measures at Hanul Nuclear Power Plant," according to the statement.

Authorities have made all-out efforts to prevent the fire from further spreading to the plant, where six pressurized water reactors are located.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the plant's operator, said it lowered the generation capacity of five reactors in operation by 50 percent to prepare for a possible glitch in the grid from the fire, though no damage has been reported.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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