adminAn embassy spokesman told Russian news agencies that the North Korean foreign ministry had suggested they “examine the question of evacuating employees” from the mission.
The spokesman said he believed a similar suggestion had been made to other diplomatic missions in the capital.
North Korea, incensed by UN sanctions and South Korea-US military drills, has issued a series of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war in recent weeks, and international concern that the situation might spiral out of control is clearly growing.
North Korea has also warned Britain that it cannot protect foreign embassies after April 10 in the event of a conflict linked to soaring nuclear tensions, the Foreign Office said yesterday.
A spokeswoman said Pyongyang had advised London that “from April 10, the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organisations in the country in the event of conflict”.
“The DPRK has responsibilities under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomatic missions and we believe they have taken this step as part of their country’s rhetoric that the US poses a threat to them,” the Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
Britain was one of several European countries including Russia to receive a letter regarding the safety of its embassy in Pyongyang, as North Korea moved two mid-range missiles to its east coast.
The Foreign Office spokeswoman added however: “Our understanding is that the North Koreans were asking whether embassies are intending to leave, rather than advising them to leave.”
North Korea, incensed by UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military drills, has issued a series of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon described the daily threats from Pyongyang as “really alarming and troubling” and Germany summoned the North Korean ambassador to convey Berlin’s “serious concern”.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he was flying to Seoul on Saturday and would “fully vet” contingency plans for ensuring the safety of 43 000 Filipino workers in South Korea.
The spike in tensions case as Yonhap news agency, citing a top South Korean government official, said North Korea had loaded two mid-range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in underground facilities near its east coast.
“The North is apparently intent on firing the missiles without prior warning,” the official said.
The South’s Defence Ministry, which on Thursday had confirmed the movement of one missile with “considerable range”, declined to comment on the new report. —AFP.
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