Plans in place for Pinoys in South Korea

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Seoul is ready in case the tension between North and South Korea becomes an all-out war again.

“Nakahanda po ang ating embahada para sa worst-case scenario,” said Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is in South Korea to represent President Benigno Aquino III in the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.

Binay, who is also the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns, said in a statement he is hopeful the situation won’t escalate, but the Embassy in Seoul is ready with a contingency plan for the more than 50,000 Filipinos in the country.

Meanwhile, he also said that the government will be directing local governments which may be affected by North Korea’s plan to launch a rocket next month in its attempt to launch a satellite into orbit.

The rocket, if launched, is projected to fall in the seas off the northeastern coast of Luzon, according to a disclosure of North Korea to the UN International Maritime Organization.

“This is an unfortunate situation because there is an existing UN (United Nations) resolution and North Korea had said they will comply with the resolution,” Binay said.

“We do not want to speculate on the effects of the launch. We hope it does not happen and North Korea complies with the UN resolution. However, we will be directing the local government who could be affected to be prepared for any eventuality,” he added. – Rappler.com