EU: Members need not evacuate Korean missions

AP – The European Union says member countries don’t need to evacuate or relocate their diplomatic missions, either in North or South Korea, despite current tensions which it says North Korea is attempting to increase.

EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic says the Swedish embassy, on behalf of the EU, conveyed that view to North Korean authorities Wednesday morning. She said the EU reminded North Korea that, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, North Korea must protect diplomatic missions and EU citizens.

For now, EU member countries have not modified their travel advice to the region, Kocijancic said.

The EU called on North Korea to “refrain from further provocative declarations or action” and instead pursue dialogue to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.

North Korean officials have told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang that they will not be able to guarantee their safety starting Wednesday and urged tourists in South Korea to take cover, warning that a nuclear war is imminent. Most diplomats and foreign residents in both capitals appeared to be staying put.

South Korea’s foreign minister has said the North may test a missile, saying the prospect of a medium-range missile launch is “considerably high.”

Pyongyang has not announced plans to launch a missile in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions barring Pyongyang from nuclear and missile activity.