Reservists undergo training at the Suwon-Hwaseong-Osan Science Reserve Military Training Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, March 6. Yonhap

Reservist training with firearms has been suspended in some parts of Seoul since the middle of this week to ensure public safety, the Ministry of National Defense and participants of recent reserve force training sessions said Friday. This comes amid heightened tensions over the Constitutional Court's imminent ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.

Reservists who took part in annual training in northeastern Seoul's Dongdaemun District on Thursday found there were no assault rifles and the outdoor exercise was moved indoors.

A reserve unit commander from Dongdaemun District said on condition of anonymity that he received a text message around 8 p.m. Wednesday instructing that firearms must not be used during training. As a result, no firearms were provided on Thursday.

"No firearms were present during Friday's training either," he told The Korea Times. "The local military unit was supposed to bring the firearms to the community center in the morning (where the reservists were gathered), and take them back in the evening, but the weapons did not arrive at all."

According to a ministry official, the commander of the 56th Infantry Division, responsible for defending northern Seoul, on Wednesday ordered all reservist training in Seoul's eight districts there to be moved indoors and prohibited the use of firearms.

The order was to align with the police's efforts to tighten control of lethal weapons in the capital, amid growing concerns over potential violence ahead of the impeachment ruling, as protests by those supporting and opposing Yoon's impeachment have intensified.

Police announced Friday that they would prohibit the release of approximately 86,000 civilian-owned firearms stored at police stations beginning midnight before the impeachment ruling until noon three days after the decision. The ruling date has yet to be announced. According to the law on firearms, people who own shotguns or rifles to drive away wild animals must keep the weapons at police stations and can take them out only after approval from the police and local governments.

Barbed wire is installed around the Constitutional Court wall in Jongno District, Seoul, Friday. Newsis

"Although the police did not request cooperation (for firearms use suspension at the training), the commander of the 56th Infantry Division issued this order as part of a coordinated effort," the ministry official said.

He added that indoor training eliminates the possibility of using firearms and helps prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.

"If there is another reservist training session next week, the commanding officer will issue appropriate instructions based on the situation," he said.

With the Constitutional Court's ruling on Yoon's impeachment expected as soon as next week, concerns over violent protests are mounting in a politically polarized country. In January, at least 100 conservative protesters stormed the Seoul Western District Court and damaged facilities after the court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon.

The police announced Friday they would issue the highest alert level on the day of the ruling, to mobilize 100 percent of their forces.

"We will respond firmly to prevent a recurrence of illegal incidents like those at the Seoul Western District Court," Lee Ho-young, acting commissioner general of the National Police Agency, said.