With North Korea repeatedly threatening attacks on South Korea, America and Japan, worried civilians are stocking up on emergency supplies and materials.
eBay and other online sales websites have confirmed the neighbours to the rogue state are preparing for the worst as despot Kim Jong-un warns of nuclear destruction.
Hong Soon-chul of eBay Korea warned: “There has been a recent surge in demand for survival kits.
“We don’t advertise or market such items because it could raise unnecessary concerns but the demand is out there.”
Auction, another website, also reported a surge in demand.
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They said sales for hand-held radios had risen 46 per cent and combat rations by 77 per cent from September 2 to 5. This was around the time North Korea carried out a highly provocative nuclear test, a move which sent alarm bells ringing from Washington to Japan.
Some companies are even supplying kits for their own employees in a move to ensure their safety.
READ MORE: Will North Korea attack the USA?
One employee of a shipping company said: “I was confused at first but I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have a war survival kit at home after watching recent news.”
It mirrors a similar surge in Japan, where companies selling bomb shelters and other civilian war equipment have recorded huge upturns in sales.
After a series of provocative missile launches, which first saw bombs fly into Japan’s area of economic importance before then directly over their territory, sales have boomed.
Earth Shift, a company specialising in shelters, saw a 10-fold increase in inquiries and quotes for underground facilities during February and April of this year.
And businessman Oribe Seiki Seisakusho also said this spring he had sold out of 50 Swiss-made air purifiers, which are said to keep out radiation and poisonous gas.
These purifiers cost £4,390 while shelters cost an eye-watering £170,000 to build. They can protect 13 people and survive huge blasts.
Mr Oribe said: “It takes time and money to build a shelter. But all we hear these days, in this tense atmosphere, is that they want one now. They ask us to come right away and give them an estimate.”
And the world moved one step closer to disaster yesterday when a North Korean official claimed America had “declared war” on Kim’s hermit state.
A White House official dismissed this claim as “absurd”.