SKo firefighters battle blazes near nuclear plant

Thousands of South Korean firefighters and troops were battling a large wildfire on Saturday that tore through an eastern coastal area and temporarily threatened a nuclear power station and a liquefied natural gas plant.

The fire, which began Friday morning on a mountain in the seaside town of Uljin and has spread across more than 6,000 hectares to the nearby city of Samcheok, destroyed at least 159 homes and 46 other buildings.

President Moon Jae-in issued an alarm Friday afternoon as the fire reached the perimeter of a seaside nuclear power plant in Uljin, forcing the operator to reduce operations to 50% and cut off some electricity lines as preventive measures.

Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the plant and kept the blaze under control before winds drove it northward toward Samcheok.