As North Korea loaded two of the country's mobile missile launchers and positioned them to fire off the east coast Thursday, Pyonyang warned several foreign embassies to evacuate Pyongyang within the next five days.
Citing military sources in Seoul, South Korea's Yonhap news agency announced that the North had placed two Musudan missiles in mobile launchers in position to fire on the South, Japan, and potentially the US-protected territory of Guam. The missiles are thought to have a range of at least 1,875 miles.
In response to the North's most recent threats, South Korea deployed two battleships with the ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. The U.S. recently set up interceptor missiles and naval warships in the area as well to prevent a potential attack.
While North Korea moved its rockets into position "within the last few days," the nation simultaneously cautioned foreign diplomats staying in Pyongyang to leave the country soon, saying that if they stayed after April 10, the North could not guarantee their safety. The U.K's foreign embassy reported getting such a message from North Korea Friday morning, however, they said they would not be evacuating at this time.
"The British embassy in Pyongyang received a communication from the North Korean government this morning saying that the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organisations in the country in the event of conflict from 10 April," the embassy said.
The U.K's Foreign Office downplayed the warnings, saying they were nothing more than "continuing rhetoric that the U.S. poses a threat to them [North Korea]".
"The DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] has responsibilities under the Vienna convention to protect diplomatic missions, and we believe they have taken this step as part of their continuing rhetoric that the US poses a threat to them. We are considering next steps, including a change to our travel advice," a spokeswoman said.
Russia's foreign embassy in Pyongyang also reported receiving a warning to evacuate the city. The country has no plans to leave its embassy at this time, Denis Samsonv told Reuters.
Pyongyang has made a point in recent months of displaying its military brawn through open threats aimed at the U.S. and South, provocative military exercises aimed at South Korean and U.S. targets, and more. North Korea has continued to ratchet up its aggressive rhetoric on a near-daily basis ever since its third nuclear test launch in February.
North Korea told the U.S. Wednesday that its military had been instructed to attack using "smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear" weaponry. Shortly after the North's warning, South Korea notified the U.S. that Pyongyang had moved a missile in "considerable range" to its east coast. The insular nation also officially cut off a hotline with Seoul Wednesday at the shared Kaesong industrial complex, blocking hundreds of workers from the South from entering factories at the border.
Pyongyang cautioned the United Nations that it was only a matter of time before violence erupted, saying the tensions had developed into a "simmering nuclear war."
Earlier in the week, North Korea declared its scientists had begun "readjusting and restarting" the North's nuclear facilities at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center Tuesday, which includes a plutonium reactor and a uranium enrichment plant.
Experts on the region say North Korea's nearly-endless flood of aggressive actions is meant to pressure the U.S. into "disarmament-for-aid" discussions and strengthen its people's devotion to new leader Kim Jong Un by showing he is a powerful military commander. Some also note that it's likely the majority of Pyongyang's threats are merely attempts to feel out, or intimidate South Korea's recently elected - and thus untested - president, and for Kim Jong Un - also a fairly new leader - to prove his mettle to an inert national audience.
As many experts on the region often point out, while the exact nuclear capabilities of North Korea remain uncertain because of the nation's intense isolation, evidence suggests that Pyongyang is still many years away from developing nuclear missiles, and doesn't currently have the proper weaponry for pulling off such far off strikes.