Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it reviewed the government's wintertime disaster response system in an annual interagency high-level meeting.

Suh Hoon, director of national security, presided over the session joined by vice ministerial officials of 27 related ministries and other organizations.

They discussed the potential causes of "disaster crises," which often occur in winter, and countermeasures, according to the presidential office.

Those include heavy snow, inferno and wildfire, as well as the spread of bird flu, African swine fever and other livestock contagious diseases.

Also monitored at the "national crisis assessment meeting" was the safety of local nuclear energy facilities.

Suh stressed that, "At a time when public anxiety runs high over COVID-19, there shouldn't be even a slight loophole in the government's accident prevention and response capabilities."

He instructed the authorities to take strong and swift steps preemptively, which could be deemed "excessive," against risk factors, Cheong Wa Dae said. (Yonhap)