North Korea warned on Tuesday that the Korean peninsula was headed for “thermo-nuclear” war, advising foreigners in South Korea to consider evacuation.
North Korea warned on Tuesday that the Korean peninsula was headed for “thermo-nuclear” war, advising foreigners in South Korea to consider evacuation.
"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war," the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Saying it did not want to see foreigners in South Korea "fall victim", the statement requested all foreign institutions, enterprises and tourists "to take measures for shelter and evacuation".
The committee blamed the heightened war risk on the "warmongering US and its South Korean puppets" who were intent on invasion.
Tuesday’s announcement echoed a similar warning issued last week to foreign embassies in its capital Pyongyang to consider evacuating by April 10, with the North saying it could not ensure the safety of their personnel if conflict broke out.
NORTH KOREANS BOYCOTT KAESONG
Earlier Tuesday, North Korean workers followed Pyongyang's order to boycott the Kaesong joint industrial zone with South Korea, signaling the possible demise of the sole surviving symbol of cross-border 
reconciliation.
The North announced Monday it was taking the unprecedented step of pulling out its 53,000 workers and shutting the complex down indefinitely.
Established in 2004, Kaesong has never been closed before. Pyongyang's move reflects the depth of the current crisis on the Korean peninsula.
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said the North's action on Kaesong was "very disappointing" and displayed a total disregard for investment norms that would return to haunt Pyongyang in the future.
"If North Korea, under the full eyes of the international community, breaches international rules and promises like this, then there will be no country or company which will invest in North Korea," Park said.
Pyongyang has blocked South Korean access to Kaesong since Wednesday, forcing 13 of the 123 South Korean firms there to halt production.
