North Korea: Foreign embassies in Pyongyang have no plans to evacuate despite warnings

Foreign embassies in Pyongyang have played down warnings from the North Korean government over their safety in the event of a war.

Yesterday North Korea warned it would not be able to guarantee the safety of embassy staff in case of a war on the peninsula.

The US and South Korean officials have sought to play down fears of a conflict on the Korean peninsula in recent days.

No foreign embassies have announced plans to evacuate, and the UK and Russian embassies have said they have no immediate plans to shut their embassies.

Meanwhile China, traditionally a North Korean ally, has reportedly urged dialogue between North Korea and the international community.

On Saturday Chinese media reported telephone discussions between the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, and UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon.

The talks stressed that dialogue was the only way forward and that “China would not allow any trouble at its door step”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, is due to visit China in the coming week, along with South Korea and Japan, where talks are expected to focus on North Korea’s nuclear programme and escalating threats against the US and its allies.

US officials have said they would not be surprised if North Korea launched a missile, and are moving a missile defense system to its Pacific island territory of Guam.

They has also played down fears of an all-out conflict on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has issued a series of unusually strong threats since it was sanctioned by the UN in March for having carried out a third nuclear test.

It has threatened nuclear strikes on the US, formally declared war on the South, and pledged to reopen a nuclear reactor in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

The movement of missiles within North Korea has sparked concern, but it is not clear how well developed its missile technology is.

North Korea has not taken direct military action since 2010, when it shelled a South Korean island and killed four people.

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