– North Korea tells Brit diplomats to get out — then sets chilling April 10 deadline (The Sun, April 5, 2013):
ROGUE state North Korea today sparked fears that it could trigger a nuclear strike as early as next WEDNESDAY.
Crackpot Kim Jong-un’s regime today issued a chilling threat to British diplomats warning them to get out of Pyongyang.
Alarmingly the North Korean government said it would not be able to guarantee the safety of embassies from April 10.
Russian diplomats have also been advised to evacuate.
Today the Foreign Office added that it is “considering next steps” after the threat.
It is still unclear why next Wednesday has been set as a deadline – but it is sure to spark fears despot Kim Jong-un will launch an attack after that date.
This week South Korean workers employed in factories in the North were also told to leave by April 10.
The dramatic development came as North Korea moved a second missile to its east coast in a further threat to Japan, South Korea and US Pacific bases.
The rogue state has already transported a Musudan missile with a range of 1,800 miles (3,000km) to the same area.
Two rockets have been loaded onto mobile launchers and hidden in special underground facilities on North Korea’s east coast , according to a government official.
The official added: “The North is apparently intent on firing the missiles without prior warning.”
The range of the second missile is unknown though it is believed to be an inter-continental ballistic KN-08 missile, which is untested by the regime.
It came as a powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the North Korean border in far-eastern Russia.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 1pm (GMT) was south-west of Vladivostok, around five miles from Russian border town Zarubino.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has pledged to tone down pronouncements about its military build-up after the crisis on the Korean peninsula threatens to spiral out of control.
In recent days, the US has flown two B-2 stealth bombers over South Korean and announced an expansion of missile defence systems in Alaska and Guam.
But rather than encouraging North Korea to back down, the US’s military movements have prompted even greater threats and belligerent rhetoric from Pyongyang.