North Korea has now moved two missiles to its east coast as US soldiers train in the South

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About two dozen countries, including Britain, have embassies in North Korea.



Last night, the British Foreign Office confirmed it had been told its staff were at risk while Russia said it was in 'close contact with the U.S, China and South Korea' about airlifting workers out.



Advice for tourists was also set to change after North Korea moved a second missile to its east coast, according to local reports. As tensions continued to rise in the region, dictator Kim Jong-un warned he could not 'guarantee the safety of foreigners' and invited countries to submit plans to withdraw their nationals by April 10.About two dozen countries, including Britain, have embassies in North Korea.Last night, the British Foreign Office confirmed it had been told its staff were at risk while Russia said it was in 'close contact with the U.S, China and South Korea' about airlifting workers out.Advice for tourists was also set to change after North Korea moved a second missile to its east coast, according to local reports. North Korea has said nuclear conflict could break out at any time on the Korean peninsula, in a month-long war of words that has prompted the United States to move military assets into the region. The warning came amid a military build-up by the United States in South Korea following the North's warnings that war was inevitable due to U.N. sanctions imposed for a nuclear test and what it terms "hostile" American troop drills with South Korea.



Prime Minister David Cameron warned that Kim Jong Un’s regime possessed weapons which could threaten the UK.



“North Korea does now have missile technology that is able to reach, as they put it, the whole of the United States,” he said.



“If they are able to reach the whole of the United States they can reach Europe too, they can reach us too. That is a real concern.”



Pyongyang last night released footage of Kim Jong-un joining in with some target practice during a military drill. The Communist leader was seen firing a gun and looking at shots on a target mark as well as using his binoculars.



But Russia's foreign minister later said Moscow did not understand why North Korea suggested it and other countries close their embassies in Pyongyang.

Russia added that it was concerned about the high tensions on the Korean peninsula.



During a visit to Uzbekistan, Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country was in touch with China, the United States, Japan and South Korea - all members of a dormant talks process with North Korea - to try to figure out the motivation."We are very perturbed about the supercharged tensions, which for now are verbal. We want to understand the causes of this proposal," he said.



In a dramatic twist yesterday, China reportedly The warning came amid a military build-up by the United States in South Korea following the North's warnings that war was inevitable due to U.N. sanctions imposed for a nuclear test and what it terms "hostile" American troop drills with South Korea.Prime Minister David Cameron warned that Kim Jong Un’s regime possessed weapons which could threaten the UK.“North Korea does now have missile technology that is able to reach, as they put it, the whole of the United States,” he said.“If they are able to reach the whole of the United States they can reach Europe too, they can reach us too. That is a real concern.”Pyongyang last night released footage of Kim Jong-un joining in with some target practice during a military drill. The Communist leader was seen firing a gun and looking at shots on a target mark as well as using his binoculars.But Russia's foreign minister later said Moscow did not understand why North Korea suggested it and other countries close their embassies in Pyongyang.Russia added that it was concerned about the high tensions on the Korean peninsula.During a visit to Uzbekistan, Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country was in touch with China, the United States, Japan and South Korea - all members of a dormant talks process with North Korea - to try to figure out the motivation."We are very perturbed about the supercharged tensions, which for now are verbal. We want to understand the causes of this proposal," he said.In a dramatic twist yesterday, China reportedly rejected a request from the North to send them an envoy in order to improve their soured relations, in what could be seen as a warning regarding the regime’s recent warmongering rhetoric. Under a treaty signed half a century ago, China is obliged to “render military and other assistance by all means at its disposal” in the event North Korea comes under “armed attack by any state.”

North Korea has placed two of its intermediate range missiles on mobile launchers



North Korea this morning transported two more missiles to the east coast, Seoul military sources revealed, triggering speculation that it is ready for an abrupt missile launch. The country loaded two intermediate-range missiles onto mobile launchers and hidden them in an unidentified facility near the east coast, South Korea's Yonhap news agency has said. "It has been confirmed that North Korea, early this week, transported two Musudan mid-range missiles by train to the east coast and loaded them on vehicles equipped with launch pads," Yonhap quoted the official as saying. The official said the mobile launchers had since been hidden in special underground facilities, according to reports. The ominous move could be seen as a threat intended to demonstrate a show of power by the North to either Japan or to U.S. bases on Guam.

North Koreans attend a rally held to gather their willingness for a victory in the possible war

North Korea has given Britain 5 days to evacuate its embassy

"The range is between 3,000 to 4,000km. There are major US military forces in Guam and a fixed number of troops to deal with the Korean peninsula, so I think these facts can reduce the possible danger there," Kim Min-seok, South Korea's Defence Ministry spokesman, said. As the crisis deepened, South Korea yesterday deployed two warships armed with specialist missile defence systems amid growing fears of an attack from its northern neighbour.



The warships were mobilised just 24 hours after the North apparently moved a missile to its east coast. The missile, which has a range of 3,000km (1,800m) is now within firing distance of Japan - and North Korea claimed it would be 'merciless' against its enemies.



Military officials told South Korean media that its two warships were being deployed on both the east and west coasts.



But Seoul tried to play down the North's missile move, saying it may be for a test rather than a hostile act.



In recent weeks, the North has ramped up its rhetoric and made specific threats to target US territory.



One of such targets named by Pyongyang was the Pacific island of Guam, which hosts a US military base.



The US Government has confirmed it will deploy a missile-defence system to Guam in response to the threats.



State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "The moves that we have been making are designed to ensure and to reassure the American people and our allies that we can defend the United States." As the crisis deepened, South Korea yesterday deployed two warships armed with specialist missile defence systems amid growing fears of an attack from its northern neighbour.The warships were mobilised just 24 hours after the North apparently moved a missile to its east coast. The missile, which has a range of 3,000km (1,800m) is now within firing distance of Japan - and North Korea claimed it would be 'merciless' against its enemies.Military officials told South Korean media that its two warships were being deployed on both the east and west coasts.But Seoul tried to play down the North's missile move, saying it may be for a test rather than a hostile act.In recent weeks, the North has ramped up its rhetoric and made specific threats to target US territory.One of such targets named by Pyongyang was the Pacific island of Guam, which hosts a US military base.The US Government has confirmed it will deploy a missile-defence system to Guam in response to the threats.State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "The moves that we have been making are designed to ensure and to reassure the American people and our allies that we can defend the United States." North Korea's military announced yesterday that it would take a series of military actions against the US, warning it has ratified a “merciless attack” against the country in a war which could start “today or tomorrow”.



In a statement, the North's supreme military command said it is formally notifying the White House and the Pentagon that "reckless operations" involving cutting-edge nuclear weapons have been finally approved.



"The moment of explosion is approaching fast," the army said in a statement on state news agency KCNA.

How far North Korea's missiles can actually reach

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened the South and US with war

The nuclear threat is not a game UN chief Ban Ki-moon

Today, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned that "the nuclear threat is not a game". The escalating level of threats from Pyongyang are "really alarming and troubling," he said, urging North Korea to ease tensions. "Any misjudgement or miscalculation could have "very serious implications," he said. The North's dramatic threats of nuclear war must not be underestimated, an expert in Korean studies has warned. "We must assume the North Korean leadership is not crazy or suicidal in spite of bizarre things it says and does," Sung-Yoon Lee, a professor in Korean studies, has said, warning that the North's verbal attacks on South Korea and the US could be far more than just bluster and vituperation.



"Cruel, totalitarian and solipsistic the Kim dynasty surely is," he said.



"But the fact that it has managed to preserve itself for more 60 years and, in the post-Cold War era, in spite of the everyday existential threat of facing an immeasurably more successful Korean state across the border, the impoverished North has shown itself to be, if nothing else, calculating and resilient. Although the North's ramped up rhetoric is not completely unusual Sung-Yoon Lee says, the country's flamboyant tirades against the South and US have certainly become more dangerous.



"Pyongyang will most likely not just go quietly into the night after having thumped its chest for so long," he said.



"We should expect some kind of deadly, although limited, attack to come soon." Tensions have increased since the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea in early March, seeking to curtail its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes after it conducted its third nuclear test.