North Korea may try to harm South Korean officials. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs increased diplomatic alert on Thursday (May 2) amid such fears. Based on intelligence, the country’s five diplomatic offices have raised the terror alert level. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
In a statement, South Korea’s ministry said Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Russia’s Vladivostok and Seoul’s embassies in Shenyang, China are under diplomatic alert. This terror alert is the second highest of South Korea’s four levels of alert, indicating the possibility of an attack is strong.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said separately, ‘There are indications that North Korea is preparing to carry out terrorist attacks against our diplomatic officials and citizens.’ However, the NIS did not elaborate on the nature of the threat.
NIS. North Korea has also sent agents to those countries to strengthen surveillance of South Korean missions, it said.
Reuters did not receive a response to a request for comment from the North Korean embassy in London.
But North Korea’s state media criticized the accusations as a US-led effort to discredit US opponents.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry statement also said that the country’s National Counter-Terrorism Center held a meeting on Thursday regarding the protection of diplomatic offices and officials.
During the Cold War, North Korea was accused of bombing Seoul airport and several attacks on civilian targets in the 1980s, including a South Korean airliner.
In 2017, the United States again listed North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
