THE military on Friday warned that debris from North Korean missiles might fall on the northern parts of the country if they disintegrate in the atmosphere.
“Debris… may scatter around in the area of its trajectory,” Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said. “It could hit some northern coastal areas. We have to forewarn our citizens to be on the lookout.”
“On the civil defense side, we are preparing,” he added.
On Thursday, nuclear-armed North Korea announced a detailed plan to send a salvo of four missiles over Japan and towards the US territory of Guam.
The scheme to target the island, a key US military stronghold, was intended as a warning” to the United States, after US President Donald Trump said North Korea faced “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
The war of words over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs is raising fears of a miscalculation that could lead to catastrophic consequences on the Korean peninsula and beyond.
Last month, North Korea carried out two successful tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile, bringing much of the US mainland within its range.
Padilla said Pyongyang’s threat was a source of concern for the entire region.
In the Palace, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the peso’s decline to P51 to a US dollar was “nothing to be worried about” as concerns over nuclear tensions between the US and North Korea weighed heavily on world markets.
“This is part of the economic cycle and there is nothing…to be overly concerned with,” Abella said.
“The economic fundamentals are still strong,” he added.
The peso weakened to P51.08 in early trading, its lowest since August 2006, according to data from Bloomberg. It opened at P50.90 from Thursday’s close of P50.795.
The peso has hovered at its lowest levels in 11 years in recent weeks as imports put pressure on the local currency.