The military deployed 600 soldiers and 49 helicopters Saturday to help contain wildfires that have devastated the country's southeastern provinces, the defense ministry said.
With the latest deployment, which includes four US Forces Korea choppers, the military has deployed nearly 7,000 personnel and over 300 helicopters so far to fight the wildfires that began last week in swaths of areas in the South and North Gyeongsang provinces, according to the ministry.
An additional 5,100 troops and nine helicopters were on standby for additional deployment should firefighting authorities require more personnel, it added.
The Korea Forest Service earlier announced the wildfires in North Gyeongsang had been fully brought under control as of 5 p.m. Friday after killing or injuring dozens of people and forcing thousands of others to flee.
But the wildfires reignited overnight.
About 48,000 hectares of woodland, equivalent to some 80 percent of the size of Seoul, have been scorched in the worst wildfire disaster ever in South Korea, according to the forestry agency.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the death toll from the fires hit 30 on Saturday, up two from the previous day, along with 40 injuries. It said 6,885 people from 4,193 households have yet to return home since evacuating.
