How South Koreans are preparing for all-out war with trigger-happy Kim Jong-un
Residents build bunkers, stock up on food and GOLD ahead of a feared nuclear attack from their noisy neighbours
THE people of South Korea are well used to threats of imminent oblivion from their noisy neighbours in the North - but even they are starting to worry now.
They have recently been preparing for the worst after decades of diabolical diatribe from despots Kim Il-sung, his son Kim Jong-il, and now grandson Kim Jong-un.
However, there are genuine fears the latest Kim - unlike his ancestors - will turn his tough talk into military action, with catastrophic results.
The rogue state has gone into overdrive this year threatening to nuke the US, Japan, Guam, Australia as well as the perpetual promise to wipe South Korea off the map.
On the back of these verbal assaults, they've launched a string of missiles and unveiled a massive H-bomb - which they brag is capable of killing millions.
Kim's personal war of words with US President Donald Trump even led to the Russians and Chinese telling the pair to cool it.
One South Korean desperate for things to get back to normal is Woo Jong-il - who lives right "next door" to North Korea.
From a hedge at the bottom of his garden he can peer at the old enemy - where thousands of guns and missiles at targeted at his homeland.
He still remembers when stray bullets would fly through the air, terrifying the hundreds of families scattered along the border.
These days the retired dairy farmer admits he is preparing for the worst and has two concrete bunkers in readiness of an attack.
However, amid all the war talk, not even Woo’s two hideouts give him peace of mind.
“We’re in the most danger, it’s nerve-wracking. Weapons these days are so good, the front lines will be completely destroyed if war breaks out.
"If war were to break out, it would kill a lot of Korean people. For America, it’s just the soldiers who come here, their country is safe. It’s only our civilians that will die.”
Hundreds of thousands of troops and huge arsenals are arrayed on both sides of the tense demilitarised zone which separates the two countries.
At least 1,000 of the North’s heavy artillery guns are capable of reaching densely populated Seoul and its metropolitan area, which is home to about 25 million.
Former South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan acknowledged the North's nukes are sparking debate about his country's long-term security strategy.
"Worries have begun to appear," he declared .
Those living in South Korea - including British expats - have already been advised to take precautions against the possibility of a catastrophic conflict breaking out on the Korean Peninsula.
They are being instructed how to protect themselves against artillery fire, a chemical weapons attack and even how to survive a NUCLEAR blast.
Citing guidelines drawn up by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, The Korea Herald even printed a list of measures for residents to take in the event of "the worst case scenario."
They are being advised to prepare an emergency supply kit "designed to keep you alive while staying in a shelter for as long as it takes".
It should include medicines, food and water, a battery-powered radio, a torch, spare batteries and gas masks.
In the event of an attack, civilians are advised to seek shelter in one of the 24,000 reinforced buildings, underground stations and subterranean parking spaces that have been designated as shelters.
They're told to put on gas masks or hold a cloth over their noses and mouths at the first sign of a chemical weapons attack.
Anyone indoors is advised to close the windows and seal ventilators or cracks around doors and windows.
Those caught outdoors should go to the top of tall buildings as chemical agents are heavier than air.
A nuke explosion will knock out communications as well as destroying a large part of major cities.
Anyone who survives the initial blast is advised to take shelter inside a concrete structure and minimise contact with anything radioactive.
There are around 8,000 Brits living in South Korea and, should the worst-case scenario happen, they would be told to meet at designated locations in major cities to be evacuated by the US military.
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans are already stocking up on gold, water, canned food and ready to eat meals over fears the country is facing nuclear oblivion .
Long used to living within range of North Korea’s artillery, people in the South have generally ignored its aggressiveness and ongoing nuclear and long-range missile tests.
But now, as Pyongyang exchanges increasingly angry words with the United States, there are worries of a clash erupting along the heavily militarised frontier which divides the two Koreas.
Combat Ration Inc- who sell ready to eat meals - said sales had surged as much as 50 per cent in recent weeks.
“Since 2006, when North Korea first conducted its nuclear test, there wasn’t this much response as people became immune to frequent missile launches and nuclear tests,” said Yoon Hee-yeul, the chief executive of Combat Ration, based in the southeastern city of Daegu.
“I feel it’s different this time.”
Ready to eat meals maker Babmart, based in eastern Seoul, and another Seoul-based online seller, jun2food.com, also said sales have rocketed.
Officials at both companies attributed the surge to the heightened tension.
“Koreans used to be numb to North Korea’s threats, however, it seems different this time, and people are taking it seriously,” said Song Jong-gil, an official of Korea Gold Exchange 3M, where sales of mini gold bars have surged five-fold since August 9.
After Trump’s “fire and fury” threat heightened tension, average daily sales volume has been 250 bars, versus about 50 earlier.
Investors widely consider gold a safe-haven asset at times of conflict and South Koreans, who are still technically at war with their noisy neighbours, are clearly no exception.