강원도 산불에 문 대통령, "특별재난지역 지정 검토 서둘러 달라"
In the meantime, South Korea's Prime Minister has gone to the region himself.
President Moon Jae-in has ordered his officials to do everything they can to contain the fire.
Our presidential office correspondent joins us now with the latest.
Semin, what's the government doing to get this situation under control?
The presidential office is getting minute-by-minute updates.
President Moon went again to the crisis management center for an update at around 11 this morning... where he ordered officials to devote all their resources to getting this wildfire contained.
Speaking via video conference,... the president told the officials on site to make sure all the little fires are completely put out,... and ordered a review of the extent of the damage... to potentially designate the affected areas as special disaster zones.
The president's been keeping a close eye on fire since late last night.
He held his first emergency meeting in the wee hours of this morning, shortly after the clock struck midnight.
This is him earlier this morning at an emergency meeting. Listen to this.
"Give special attention to firefighters and others who have been dispatched to put out the fire. Local governments should be at the center of preemptive measures to actively evacuate residents from danger zones and prevent the loss of life."
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon... has been at the scene since this morning,... shortly after he held an emergency meeting with related ministries.
The government this morning declared a national disaster -- because of damage piling up to what authorities have called "an unprecedented extent."
That means those living in the region will be entitled to special government support.
Se-min, there are many aspects of this fire that the government has to deal with. The safety of people in the area, of course, but also military issues since it's near the border.
What are the different ministries and agencies doing?
Right,... at the center of the situation,... are the ministries of interior and safety, and defense,... and the Fire Department.
The safety ministry continues to update its assessments as the day goes on,... and in the meantime the defense ministry says that as of one-PM,... it has dispatched 30 military aircraft and some 67-hundred military personnel to the site to try and put out the fire.
An additional 14-thousand military personnel are standing by.
And the unification ministry is also involved because the fire is so close to the border with North Korea.
Officials say that they have already informed the North via the Kaesong inter-Korean joint liaison office this morning -- and they were told in response by the North Koreans that they will report to their superiors.
Devin?
