THE Palace on Sunday called on all parties to exercise self-restraint so as not to aggravate the situation in the Korean peninsula.
“The Philippines reiterates its call for continued exercise of self-restraint in order to deescalate the tension,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said, after North Korea threatened to launch nuclear missiles at the US territory of Guam.
“The Philippine embassy in Seoul and the consulate general in Agana have been monitoring the situation closely and have been working closely with the Filipino communities in the Republic of Korea and Guam, respectively, to ensure preparedness for any eventuality,” Abella said.
Earlier, North Korea threatened to launch four intermediate-range missiles towards Guam, the US island territory in the western Pacific, which lies about 3,300 kilometers from Pyongyang.
North Korea’s military said four Hwasong-12 missiles would be aimed to come down “30 to 40 kilometers away from Guam.”
Guam, the US military’s base in the western Pacific, is home to some 7,000 US troops.
It is also home to some 42,800 Filipinos, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
As tensions escalate between North Korea and the US, Philippine officials said they are preparing for possible missile attacks near Guam, about 2,500 kilometers from the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs assured the public that contingency measures are in place in case North Korea makes good on its threat.
There are about 65,000 Filipinos in South Korea and another 42,835 in Guam.
