Pyongyang ups the ante, tells foreigners to leave Seoul
Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korea's regime has urged foreigners living in South Korea to leave the country as soon as possible. Its official news agency said that it could not guarantee the safety of those who lived there, blaming "military provocations of the United States and its South Korean puppets" for going "too far". Kim Jong-un's government has also banned 53,000 North Korean workers from going to work in the Kaesong industrial complex.
For the North, the industrial complex was created for peaceful purposes. "Now that we are at war and not of our will, it makes no sense to continue to dialogue with those who just want an excuse to attack." The area was at the centre of tensions a few days ago, when Pyongyang forced workers from the South to turn back after a few hours of tense confrontation.
For South Korea' conservative leader, President Park Geun-hye, the boycott by North Korean workers would harm the North's credibility. If Kaesong closes "no country in the world will invest in the North," she said. Likewise, she expressed frustration over the "vicious cycle where the North Koreans create tensions and we give them compromises and aid".
The Japanese government shares that view. To protect civilians from possible attacks by North Korea, Japanese authorities have deployed Patriot units near the Defence headquarters in Tokyo. More units will be deployed in at least two other sites in the Japanese capital, as well as on the sub-tropical island of Okinawa, in the Ryukyu Islands.
"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after placing the country in a state of alert and taking the appropriate measures.
The government is doing its utmost but responding to provocations with weapons could lead to "a tragic error," the Japanese Catholic Church said.
"Prime Minister Abe knows the situation and is aware that most people are with him and want more defence," Mgr Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, archbishop of Nagasaki, told AsiaNews.
"However, as bishops we cannot say that we have to defend ourselves with weapons. We must instead seek dialogue. North Korea may not be ready for dialogue with us, but this is leading to a dangerous situation in which a small attack could trigger a major war. "
"We should not give North Korea any pretext," he explained. "Instead, we must pursue a common goal that involves everyone towards the real purpose, namely total disarmament of the area and a new era of peaceful cooperation and respect for all."
.png)
12/02/2016 15:14
14/08/2013
