The Korea AeroSpace Administration will conduct a comprehensive drill on launch safety control with government, military, police and local authorities ahead of the Nuri rocket's fifth launch on Oct. 7.

The administration said on Sept. 2 it will hold a "comprehensive final inspection drill for launch safety control" on Sept. 3 at the Naro Space Center in Goheung county, South Jeolla Province, with 12 agencies including government, military, police and local authorities taking part.

The drill will test safety measures and emergency response systems, including controlling people and vehicles around the Naro Space Center during the launch process, restricting ships and aircraft along the launch path and evacuating residents.

The administration formed a launch safety control consultative body with relevant agencies on June 18 to discuss cooperation items by institution. On July 15, it conducted a tabletop command training session at the Naro Space Center for liaison officers and on-site managers from each agency.

In the comprehensive drill, the administration will reflect improvements identified in the earlier command training and check safety control across land, sea and air under the same conditions as on launch day. It will assume various emergencies, including the appearance of unauthorized drones, ships and aircraft entering control zones without permission, debris, explosions, fires and oil spills from an abnormal launch, and terrorist incidents, to test inter-agency cooperation and response capabilities.

Korea AeroSpace Administration Administrator Tae-seok Oh (오태석) said the Nuri rocket's fifth launch is significant for securing reliability through repeated launches and revitalising the space industry ecosystem. He said the administration will thoroughly prepare for emergencies through realistic safety control drills and will conduct close inspections to ensure public safety.