N Korea tells foreign envoys: Flee or you will not be safe

British officials were warned earlier that the authorities in North Korea’s capital would be unable to guarantee their safety if war broke out after April 10.

The Government criticised Kim Jong UN’s regime for ramping up tensions through a series of provocative moves over recent weeks and urged it to work “constructively” with the international community.

It is now in discussions with other governments about the latest developments. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “Earlier today, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed a number of Embassies of foreign countries in Pyongyang, including the British Embassy, and representatives of international organisations that they would be unable to guarantee the safety of Embassies and international organisations present in the country in the event of conflict.

“They invited the Embassies and organisations present at the meeting to inform them by 10 April what assistance they would require from the DPRK should they wish to be evacuated from DPRK or to be relocated elsewhere.

“We are consulting international partners about these developments. No decisions have been taken, and we have no immediate plans to withdraw our Embassy.

“In recent weeks, the North Korean Government has raised tensions on the Korean peninsula and the wider region through a series of public statements and other provocations. We condemn this behaviour and urge the North Korean Government to work constructively with the international community, including over the presence of foreign Embassies.”

The Government has warned North Korea of its obligations under the international Vienna convention to protect diplomatic missions and claimed the move was an example of the “continuing rhetoric” against the United States.

Prime Minister David Cameron warned yesterday 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.”

The latest crisis in relations on the Korean peninsula follows anger in Pyongyang about sanctions against its nuclear programme and joint military drills involving US and South Korean forces.

The North’s military warned yesterday that it had been authorised to attack the US and South Korea’s defence minister claimed its neighbour had moved a missile with “considerable range” to the east coast, potentially able to hit targets in the South or Japan.

South Korea has reportedly deployed two warships with missile-defence systems in response.

Meanwhile, hackers apparently broke into at least two of North Korea’s government-run online sites on Wednesday. The North’s Uriminzokkiri Twitter and Flickr accounts stopped sending out its typical propaganda content and instead, a picture posted on the North’s Flickr site shows Kim’s face with a pig-like snout and a drawing of Mickey Mouse on his chest. Underneath, the text reads: “Threatening world peace with ICBMs and Nuclear weapons/Wasting money while his people starve to death.”

Another posting says “We are Anonymous” in white letters against a black background. Anonymous is a name of a hacker activist group.

A statement purporting to come from the attackers and widely circulated online said that they had compromised 15,000 user records hosted on Uriminzokkiri.com and other websites. The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed, but the North’s official website did not open yesterday.

Tweets on the North’s Twitter account said “Hacked” followed by a link to North Korea-related websites.

Uriminzokkiri, a North Korea government-run agency, opened its Twitter account in 2010, and has more than 13,000 followers.

The North has also been accused of cyber attacks and recently computers froze at six major South Korean companies – three banks and three television networks.