NK shows no signs of internal turmoil

A border village in Gaepung-gun in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, is seen from the Odusan observatory at Paju in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Choi Jong-uk

By Jun Ji-hye

Despite its increasing threat of war on the Korean peninsula, North Korea remains relatively calm as diplomats and foreign tourists are staying put in the communist nation.

Since its third nuclear test on Feb 12, the North has continued to ratchet up tensions by hardening its bellicose rhetoric, such as warning to launch preemptive nuclear attacks and turn the United States and Seoul into a “sea of fire.”

With the threat of another missile launch, Pyongyang Friday asked diplomats residing in the isolated state to leave the country as “it could not guarantee their safety if a conflict broke out.” There are about two dozen foreign missions in the North.

However, most governments appear to have no immediate plans to evacuate their missions.

Germany said Saturday that its embassy in the North is to keep its operation for the time being.

“The security of the German embassy and its exposure to danger are continually being evaluated,” the German foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the embassy can continue working for now.

“There are ongoing consultations regarding the embassy's security, particularly with other international partners who also have embassies in the country,” the statement said.

For its part, a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office in London said, "We believe they have taken this step as part of their country's rhetoric that the U.S. poses a threat to them.”

United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky in New York also said in a statement that the world organization has no intention of withdrawing its personnel from the North.

The head of EU missions in the communist state is to meet Monday in Brussels to come out with a common position.

International tourists are still visiting the North as well.

Nicholas Bonner, founder of Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency specialized in tours to North Korea, was quoted by the AFP as saying, "It is certainly tense, but people are going on with their daily work and tourism is continuing and people have been very hospitable," adding that, "Everyone just hopes that it'll blow over."

Bonner, who has been organizing trips to the Stalinist state for 20 years, told the AFP: "We would not take tours if this would be in any way a risk to anyone.”

Amanda Carr, Koryo Tours guide, who returned Saturday from the North, was also quoted by AFP as saying, “There was not much difference at the moment.”

"It was a holiday yesterday so people were doing what they generally do on holidays, spending time with their families, everyone going about their daily life like usually on the streets," she said.

Tourists were able to watch BBC news in their hotels, while unable to use 3G mobile phones to access the Internet, according to the AFP.