LONDON: Students from London School of Economics have started to receive email threats from the North Korean government, after it was revealed that an undercover BBC crew merged with their delegation to carry out undercover filming from within the secretive state.

In a queer turn of events, students now blame the LSE for “putting them at risk”.

LSE last week accused the BBC of putting students in serious danger by becoming part of a college trip to get into North Korea and film.

LSE said BBC deceived the institution with one of its reporters claiming to be a PhD student to gain entry and film.

The students however in a letter to the LSE accused the Institute of putting them in danger by revealing the details of the operation.

“Our main consideration here was that the BBC agreed that the documentary would not reveal our names or that of the LSE,” they wrote.

“We feel that we have now been put in more risk than was originally the case, as a result of the LSE’s decision to go public with their story.”

In an open letter, six students from LSE criticised the university for “going public” without consulting them, consequently exposing both the individuals involved and the institution.

“We valued the trip as a rare chance to see North Korea from the inside,” they wrote in the letter, sent to the chairman Peter Sutherland and the director of LSE Craig Calhoun.

“Nothing happened on the trip which would indicate that we were put in danger, and we returned safely.”

The BBC had said that the undercover footage from within the secretive state of North Korea “is strongly in public interest” and will go ahead and air the programme.

BBC also said they were that if caught, the students of LSE and the crew would face “possible arrest and detention.”

Three BBC journalists formed part of three student group and spent eight days within North Korea.

The journalists ravelled to North Korea with members of a LSE’s Grimshaw Club .

LSE last week sent a strong letter to all members of the university, deploring BBC’s actions.

It said “This relates to the conduct of the BBC in respect of a Panorama programme entitled North Korea Undercover. The programme has been produced using as cover a visit to North Korea which took place from 23-30 March 2013 in the name of the Grimshaw Club, a student society at LSE. The School authorities had no advance knowledge of the trip or of its planning”.

