N Korea cautions foreign wembassies

6 April BBC

North Korea has told foreign embassies in Pyongyang it cannot guarantee their safety in the event of conflict, and to consider evacuating their employees.Both Russia and the UK said they had no immediate plans to evacuate their embassies in the North Korean capital.

The North's move comes amid threats to attack US and South Korean targets.South Korea has reportedly deployed two warships with missile defence systems after the North was said to have moved at least one missile to its east coast.

Military officials told South Korean media the two warships would be deployed on the east and west coasts.Seoul has played down the North's missile move: It said the move may be for a test rather than a hostile act.

For its part, the US said it would not be surprised if North Korea were to conduct a new missile test, with White House spokesman Jay Carney telling reporters: "We have seen them launch missiles in the past."

British diplomats said on Friday the North had asked them to respond by 10 April on what support the embassy would need in the event of any evacuation - and they were considering their moves.

We are consulting international partners about these developments," said a Foreign and Commonwealth Office statement.

"No decisions have been taken, and we have no immediate plans to withdraw our Embassy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was "deeply concerned about the escalation of tension, which for now is verbal"."We want to understand the reasons behind this offer," he said.

"We were interested in finding out whether this was a decision taken by the North Korean leadership to evacuate embassies, or just an offer.

Anecdotal reports from Pyongyang suggest the mood there is calm, and many believe North Korea is deliberately trying to create a sense of crisis, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.