Evacuation alerts, sirens cause panic in Seoul after North Korea launch

Rare wailing air raid sirens and mobile phone alerts calling for evacuations rattled residents of the South Korean capital, Seoul, early on Wednesday after North Korea tried to launch what it said was a satellite.

Nuclear-armed North Korea’s sixth satellite launch ended in failure, with the booster and payload plunging into the sea, but not before prompting emergency alerts and evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan.

The sirens started in Seoul at 6:32am as the city issued a “Presidential Alert” asking citizens to prepare for a potential evacuation.

Then came a second mobile alert, at least 10 minutes later, as the interior ministry said the city’s alert was sent in error.

Although residents of Seoul are used to living in the shadow of threats from their nuclear-armed neighbour, an element of complacency has crept in among many in the city about the risks and how to respond.

The two countries are still technically at war seven decades after the Korean War ended in an armistice.

Some office workers in the Seoul’s central district said they had considered during their commute how to respond to the alarm, such as by withdrawing cash or hoarding water.

Later on Wednesday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologised for confusion over the city’s alert but defended the decision to send one as a precaution for public safety. He said the city would improve the wording in future messages and on warning systems.