North Korea warns foreigners to evacuate South Korea to avoid ‘all-out war’
But its business as usual in South Korea
CORRECTS DATE IN SECOND SENTENCE – FILE – In this Saturday, April 7, 2012 file photo, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer Chokai, foreground, departs Sasebo naval base, western Japan, in preparation for North Korea’s rocket launch, expected to take place mid April, 2012. Amid reports North Korea is preparing a missile launch or another nuclear test, Japan on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo. Japan’s defense minister has also reportedly put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert in the Sea of Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News, File) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
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Tuesday came with more tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world, as North Korea said any foreigners should evacuate South Korea in case a war breaks out between the two nations.
The warning came from a North Korea state news agency, which said that if war broke out “it will be an all-out war, a merciless, sacred, retaliatory war to be waged by (North Korea).”
Despite the warning, it was business as usual in South Korea, reports Reuters, where embassies did not issue directives to their nationals to leave the country. Maybe it’s because, as The Guardian reports, there does not appear to be any build up of troops along the North Korean border that would indicate an attack.
Within North Korea, the few diplomats in the country are also ignoring warnings from North Korea that they should leave. Denis Samsonov, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Pyongyang told Bloomberg by phone: “We are working as normal, as we did a week ago. Everything that’s happening here at the moment is everyday routine.”
The warnings come amid speculation that North Korea could be preparing for a fourth missile launch, after its most recent launch in February drew international condemnation.
Japan, which could theoretically be in the reach of a mid-range missile shot from North Korea, isn’t taking any chances. The country has readied its own troops and anti-missile technologies at three sites in Tokyo. The Japanese capital is home to some 30 million residents.
One place where North Korea has made good on its threats is at a factory located on the border between North and South Korea. The country has recalled 50,000 workers form the Kaesong industrial complex and reports say that the North Korean workers did, indeed, fail to show up for work Tuesday. About 120 South Korean companies are set up in the border complex and they used mainly North Korean labour to manufacture their goods.