Is Japan making plans to evacuate its citizens from South Korea?

According to Reuters, Japan's National Security Council (NSC) has met to discuss plans to evacuate nearly 60,000 Japanese citizens from South Korea.

Elementary school students in Oga City, Japan, participate in a missile evacuation drill on March 17 - Photo: Reuters

On April 14, Reuters quoted an unnamed Japanese official as saying that a meeting of the Japanese National Security Council (NSC) on evacuation plans took place on April 13.

Currently, nearly 60,000 Japanese citizens are living and working in South Korea.

In fact, two days ago, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned citizens planning to visit South Korea for less than three months to contact Japanese diplomatic missions, and that Japanese citizens residing in South Korea for extended periods should immediately re-register their documents with diplomatic missions.

According to the official, in addition to commercial ships and aircraft, Japan also wants to deploy military ships and aircraft to assist in evacuation efforts in the event of disruption, if approved by the Seoul government.

During the meeting on April 13, the NSC also discussed how to respond to the potential threat of a flood of North Korean refugees, possibly including spies from Pyongyang, into Japan.

In another development, speaking at a press conference today (April 14), Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga emphasized that Tokyo is always collecting and analyzing information on North Korea's actions, but he did not provide details.

Mr. Suga confirmed: "Currently, we are in close contact with the United States and South Korea, and we are urging North Korea to refrain from provocative actions and to abide by relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. We will take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of our citizens."

The NSA meeting took place amid speculation that North Korea might conduct a nuclear test on the 105th birthday of the late Chairman Kim Il Sung, the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, scheduled for April 15, and before the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army (April 25).

The situation became even more tense after the US launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base on April 7th, under the pretext of retaliating against a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria, raising concerns about the possibility that US President Donald Trump would take similar action against North Korea if Pyongyang conducted further nuclear tests or missile launches.

Previously, 11 days after North Korea launched a missile toward the Sea of ​​Japan, Japan held its first civilian evacuation drill.

The drill took place in the city of Oga in northwestern Japan – just about 200 kilometers from where a North Korean missile landed – and involved approximately 100 residents.

Speaking at a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stated, "We believe this is a very important exercise to improve the public's understanding of what they need to do when the government releases information about a missile launch."

According to Vietnamnet.vn