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DPRK highly likely to launch mid-range missile: S.Korean foreign minister South Korean foreign minister said on April 10 that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is highly likely to launch mid-range missiles "at any time from now on." Flee S.Korea now, NK urges The tension on the Korean Peninsula further escalated on April 9 after North Korea urged all foreigners in South Korea to evacuate, saying the region is on the brink of a "thermonuclear war."

North Korea's call for foreigners to evacuate S. Korea:
"The committee informs all foreign institutions and enterprises and foreigners, including tourists that they are requested to take measures for shelter and evacuation in advance for their safety," the spokesman for North Korea's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said, stressing that North Korea "does not want to see foreigners in South Korea fall victim to the war."

Milestones in 2013:

February 12	DPRK successfully conducted nuclear test
March 1	South Korea and the US started to conduct joint military exercises
March 11	DPRK scrapped Korean War armistice agreement
April 2	NK revived nuclear reactor
April 6	DPRK told foreign embassies to examine possibility of evacuation

Comments

●Global Times

Editorial: North Korea cannot justify its overreaction
North Korea's security circumstances are not desperate enough to warrant these unscrupulous actions. The resources it needs for economic development cannot be gained through those means.

Washington and Seoul should also learn a lesson, especially Seoul. It should take a serious attitude to help Pyongyang build confidence to ease the situation, or Pyongyang will just continue to play tricks on the South.

Beijing can push Pyongyang to conciliation
China can continue to impose necessary sanctions on North Korea to make North Korea deeply aware of the importance of outside assistance and the strategic significance of China's support.

Such pressure should push North Korea to ease relationship with South Korea. Then the next step for China is to persuade North Korea and South Korea to hold dialogues and offer North Korea a way out.

Cai Jian, deputy director of the Center for Korean Studies at China's Fudan University
It is unlikely a large-scale military conflict will break out because North Korea's threats are largely just psychological warfare against the US and South Korea.

Shi Yinhong, a professor with the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China
There were initially expectations that under the new administration of Park, inter-Korean ties would improve as Park has a relatively practical stance toward the North, but Pyongyang's provocations have ruined these prospects.
It is one thing for North Korea to test-fire its missiles, but it would be totally different if they target US military bases in South Korea or Japan with the possible launch, because this would cross the bottom line of nations in the area and plunge the whole region into a much larger crisis.

●People’s Daily (Overseas edition)

There is still hope for sustaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as long as everyone involved remains calm and collected. North Korea must consider the possibility that the future of the Peninsula may not develop as it expects, while any rash moves by the US will only increase tensions. South Korea should take the initiative to ease tensions rather than merely respond to North Korean or US policy, and Japan should stop developing its military power or adjusting its security strategy every time North Korea tests a satellite or missile. This only adds to the complexity of the issue.

●Oriental Morning Post

By calling for all foreigners to evacuate South Korea, the North intends to heighten tensions and create the illusion that South Korea is unsafe, while gradually forwarding its strategy to unify the Peninsula, said Zhang Liangui, professor of North Korea studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC.

Int'l Reactions

	China said on April 9 it did not want to see chaos on the peninsula and opposes any side taking steps to worsen the situation. "We want peace, not war; dialogue, not confrontation; easing, not tension," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a daily news briefing, urging all parties concerned to push forward the resumption of the Six-Party Talks.
	Moscow was concerned over the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and did not accept Pyongyang's "provocative and belligerent" behavior, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 9.
	The move is "more unhelpful rhetoric that serves only to escalate tensions," which "will only further isolate" the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), White House Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a regular press briefing. The top US military commander in the Pacific has said US defenses could intercept a ballistic missile launched by the DPRK.
	South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Pyongyang will face deeper isolation if it carries out more provocations. "North Korea must understand that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to be gained by threats and provocations," Yun said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
	Japan on April 9 deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile interceptor unit around Tokyo to prepare for any possible ballistic missile tests by North Korea. Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera has reportedly been given the authority to order Japan's Self-Defense Forces to shoot down any ballistic missile launched by North Korea should they enter Japan's air space.

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