Evacuation Alerts and Air Raid Sirens Panic Seoul During North Korea’s Failed Satellite Launch

Residents of South Korea’s capital, Seoul, were startled Wednesday morning by air raid sirens and mobile phone alerts telling them to prepare for evacuation.

The panic was prompted by North Korea’s failed attempt to launch a satellite, which resulted in tons of fiery debris falling into the sea.

North Korean state media reported the attempt to launch a “Chollima-1” spy satellite ended in catastrophic failure because the engine and fuel system of the rocket were “unstable.” 

The rocket booster and its payload crashed off the western coast of the Korean peninsula shortly after its 6:37 a.m. launch.

North Korea had previously announced it would launch a satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11, with a flight path that could drop debris into the Yellow Sea and the Pacific Ocean. 

Pyongyang’s KCNA news service reported the rocket had “serious defects” and crashed “after losing thrust due to the abnormal starting of its second-stage engine,” an unusually swift and candid admission of failure for the secretive Communist regime. 

“It is impressive when the North Korean regime actually admits failure, but it would be difficult to hide the fact of a satellite launch failure internationally, and the regime will likely offer a different narrative domestically,” professor Leif-Eric Easley of Seoul’s Ewha University told the Associated Press (AP).

“This outcome also suggests that Pyongyang may stage another provocation soon, in part to make up for today’s setback,” Easley cautioned.

“Even if this satellite launch is a failure, General Secretary Kim Jong-un himself has made clear that this satellite is the first of many. This won’t be the end of those efforts,” North Korean studies professor Atsuhito Isozaki of Japan’s Keio University said in a similar vein.

South Korean intelligence officials speculated the launch failed because the North rushed the job after watching its rivals in the South successfully place seven satellites into orbit with a single rocket launch last week.

Residents of Seoul were surprised to hear air raid sirens blaring at 6:32 a.m. local time, five minutes before the officially clocked launch of the North Korean rocket. The city then issued a “presidential alert” advising residents to prepare for possible evacuation.

Twenty minutes of panic ensued as many Seoulites frantically packed their bags and nervously watched the skies. The South Korean Interior Ministry then sent out a text message that said “the alert issued by the Seoul Metropolitan Government was issued incorrectly.”

“At first, I panicked after hearing the ‘beep’ siren sound that kept on ringing on my phone. I immediately grabbed my keys and actually packed up for evacuation since I was told to evacuate, although I didn’t even know where to shelter myself at that time, and contemplated for a moment if I had to send my children to school,” a Seoul housewife told the Korea Herald.

“Also, I couldn’t access Naver’s mobile page for a few minutes, which left me even more baffled and frustrated not knowing where to receive information and check if the news was true or false. But I was even more frustrated after knowing the message was sent erroneously to those only living in Seoul,” she said. Naver is a search engine popular in South Korea.

“I was terrified for a moment because I heard that Internet access would be the first thing that would be cut off if a war broke out. I was even more confused because I live alone in Seoul, so there was no one to share the situation with. I realized I had no idea where to evacuate or what to prepare for a disaster. It would’ve been dangerous if it was a real emergency,” said officer worker Lee Yoon-ji.

“I understand it was a mistake, but even if it has to be simple, that alert message should have said what went on and where to go,” Seoul resident Kim Jong-hyun complained to Reuters after dropping his child off at school.

Many South Koreans who spoke to the media voiced similar complaints that the emergency text alert did not specify the nature of the crisis, or provide any instructions beyond advising them to prepare for evacuation. Some thought they were under attack by North Korea, while others feared a natural disaster. Since they did not know what the crisis was, they were uncertain of what to pack if they needed to evacuate the city.

Foreigners living in Seoul found the situation even more confusing and frightening.

“Nobody would know what to do when they get notified by an alarming message at 6:30 a.m. It was my first time receiving an alarm, and it was difficult for me to estimate the gravity of the situation since foreigners need extra time to translate or find information,” a German software engineer told the Korea Herald.

Several news reports noted searches for terms like “alert” and “evacuation” exploded on social media and the Internet choked under heavy traffic as people tried to figure out what was happening. Naver went offline completely for a brief period, adding to the atmosphere of panic.

Bloomberg News noted that South Koreans are long accustomed to threats and provocations from their psychotic neighbor to the north, but air raid sirens and emergency alert messages are extremely rare in Seoul. The last time the South Korean government issued a comparable warning was in 2016 when a North Korean rocket carrying a satellite payload flew near the border island of Baekryeongdo.

“I thought I would die if I don’t act immediately. It was not knowing what it was – whether it was a nuclear test, an earthquake or a war or a typhoon – that increased the fear,” web designer Chung Yuyoung told Bloomberg.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-Hoon apologized for the confusion and said the emergency alert message “may have been an overreaction by field officials,” but he said it was “not an error” because there was a real safety threat from the North Korean rocket.

Foreign news organizations were impressed with how quickly South Koreans shrugged off the morning panic and resumed their daily routine, albeit with a bit of grumbling about the government terrifying them unnecessarily. Much of Seoul’s population was reportedly back to work and school within half an hour of the Interior Ministry’s “false alarm” message.

The Japanese government also used its “J-Alert” system on Wednesday morning, urging residents of Okinawa to “take shelter inside a building or underground immediately.” The advisory was lifted about half an hour later, after the North Korean rocket splashed down.

North Korea’s harrowing rocket launch was condemned by the governments of the United States, South Korea, and Japan, as well as the United Nations. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted the launch violated Security Council resolutions against North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology.

“We urge all countries to condemn this launch and call on the DPRK [North Korea] to come to the table for serious negotiations,” the White House said on Wednesday morning. “The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement.”