FULL BLOWN WAR WITH NORTH KOREA POSES NIGHTMARE SCENARIOS

SEOUL, South Korea - A full-blown war on the Korean peninsula offers up a nightmare scenario that would cause appalling casualties and potentially trigger a nuclear exchange, experts and former officials say.
The crisis provoked by North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island this week makes the prospect of an all-out conflict look less remote, and US officials - mindful of the high-stakes - have carefully avoided talk of military action.

• With an array of artillery trained on Seoul, North Korea could easily blast the glass towers of the South's booming capital for days and kill huge numbers of civilians before US and South Korean forces prevailed, experts said.
• Fears over the consequences of North Korea armed with working nuclear missiles have led some to call for preemptive strikes.

50,000 FILIPINOS IN KOREA TO BE MOVED TO JAPAN
Meanwhile in Manila President Benigno Aquino said the Philippine government plans to move its nationals to Japan in case the tense situation in the Korean peninsula deteriorates.
An estimated 50,000 Filipinos live and work in South Korea while nine were reportedly in North Korea.

• Aquino has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to do test runs on the planned evacuation. The DFA was likewise directed to coordinate with the Japanese mission in Manila.
• The armed forces was also ordered to place an air force C-130 cargo aircraft and a naval transport ship on standby in case there's an immediate need to ferry Filipinos out of Korea.
  
• Officials were also coordinating with private commercial airlines. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Airways that operate flights to South Korea.
• "The budget is being prepared in case it's needed but as of this time I just wanted them to make sure we are able to reach out to all of the people that we have there," Aquino said.
• The United Nations also assured the safety of nine Filipinos in North Korea, said Aquino, adding that five of them are with the UN while the others work for a tobacco company.
• Meanwhile, the Philippine government will temporarily halt sending workers to Korea amidst increasing tensions in the North Asian peninsula.
  Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, said the government would be observing a "deployment ban" to the Korean peninsula after a panel formed by the government recommended such action in light of increasing tensions between North and South Korea.

Source: AFP