More on the North Korea Situation

Today our agency posted the following update, which I thought might be helpful for some of those worry-prone folks out there (a.k.a. the grandparents! and others too). Tony and I were discussing the situation earlier this week and while we are both concerned and scared, we also realize that the threats are nothing new. We continue to hope that these also amount to a whole lot of nothing, as they often have in the past. 

The below is copied from the weekly update page on our agency's website.

April 11, 2013: Response to Inquiries About North Korea Situation


This addition to the Weekly Update is in response to the recent news surrounding North Korean threats to South Korea and the United States.


Although ongoing media coverage of the situation on the Korean peninsula and government rhetoric is concerning, there is presently no imminent danger on the Korean peninsula.  The U.S. Department of State has not issued any Travel Warning against travel to or in the Republic of Korea (South Korea).  We continue to follow the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in this regard.
 
All children in care, the caregivers and the Korean agencies are secure and there is presently no need for them to take any action in response to any threat. 


Please note that all children in care of the Korean agencies are under the guardianship of those agencies.  They are Korean citizens and most have not been issued emigration permission.  The care and the safety of the children is the highest priority of the Korean agencies. 
 

Without any intent of minimizing the current situation, but to provide perspective, it is important to note that there have been threats and/or incidents annually between North and South Koreas for several years recently and although unpredictable and frightening due to the unknowns at the time, these past episodes have subsided and not prevented families from traveling to pick up their children.
 
 

We will continue to monitor the situation and share program-related news with you accordingly.