Philippine military prepares to evacuate citizens from South Korea

Fri, 26 Nov 2010

Manila - The Philippine military has placed the air force and navy on alert for the possible repatriation of thousands of Philippine workers from South Korea, a spokesman said Friday.

Brigadier General Jose Mabanta said the military was also ready to deploy troops to South Korea if necessary to help evacuate Filipinos working and living there if the conflict worsens.

"Whatever transport aircraft and ships available are being readied right now for any eventuality," he said. "We will make available all military resources."

There are about 60,000 Filipinos in South Korea, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

They were alerted of their possible evacuation after North Korea on Tuesday fired artillery shells at a South Korean island, killing two soldiers and two civilians and leading to a sharp escalation in military tensions.

The Philippines on Friday condemned the attack and called on North Korea to abide by its obligations under international law and the United Nations charter.

"The Philippines calls for an end to provocative actions that raise tensions and adversely affect peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region," it said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/355286,evacuate-citizens-south-korea.html.