This file photo taken on April 6, 2013 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 7, 2013 shows North Korean soldiers taking part in a training with military dogs at an undisclosed location. PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday urged foreigners living in South Korea to consider evacuating, saying there was a risk of "thermo-nuclear war" breaking out on the Korean peninsula.
The warning followed a similar evacuation advisory the North gave Friday to foreign embassies in Pyongyang, saying it could not ensure the safety of their personnel if war broke out.
"The situation on the Korean peninsula is heading for a thermo-nuclear war," said Tuesday's statement which was attributed to the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.
"In the event of war, we don't want foreigners living in South Korea to get hurt," said the statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
It urged "all foreign organisations, companies and tourists to work out measures for evacuation".
After last week's embassy warning, most governments involved made it clear they had no immediate plans to withdraw personnel from their Pyongyang missions and some suggested the advisory was a ruse to fuel growing global anxiety over the current crisis on the Korean peninsula.
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Ridiculous! Any nuclear action from North Korea will result in it's own obliteration. This pathetic rhetoric is DPRK's own death rattle.
All said and done but the only problem if the do nuke south korea the radiation would destroy them too. Yes radiation does spread out far!
@cautious:
China is not a country but a complete civilisation! It is Pacific which is waking up and wil become Atlantic during this millenium!
Rex Minor
All this rhetoric may have at least one upside - Chinese people no longer have sympathy or support the North. S Korea and Japan now have reasonable justification for increasing their military's and both are talking about the possibilities of acquiring nukes. If Japan changes it's military posture then that going to send a ripple through SE Asia as there are a number of countries that fear another militarized Japan. All in all China may end up the big loser as bigger military's in the region reduce it's clout.
NK threat should be taken seriously as some lunatics are in full control of this country and who have succeeded in brainwashing its people that nuking of SK and USA is justified as both are threat to NK and are humiliating the great people of their country.