Thailand prepares evacuation plan in ROK

BANGKOK - The Thai embassy in the Republic of Korea has prepared a plan for speedy evacuation of Thais from the country with the recently escalated tension on the Korean peninsula, Thai media reported on Monday.

The emergency plan includes setting up of temporary shelters in places like Busan and arranging of flights and ships to transport Thais, mostly contract workers, to Japan if hostilities really break out, according to Thai Labor Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap.

He said the embassy was ordered to gather information on the number of Thai workers in the northern part of the ROK.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday declared it entered a "state of war" against its southern neighbor.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has directed the foreign ministry to closely monitor the conflict on the Korean Peninsula and to take care of Thais in the ROK. She said her country wanted to see peace talks instead of any violence or force.

About 44,000 Thais are in the ROK and 10 Thai employers are in the DPRK, according to the Thai foreign ministry.