Despite North Korea’s sharpening rhetoric and efforts to increase tensions, South Koreans near the border told NK News on Thursday they were mostly indifferent about the current situation.

At a luxury mall adjacent to South Korea’s Odusan Observatory – where the North Korean hamlet of Maegol can be seen in plain sight – shoppers appeared relaxed and unconcerned about recent developments.

“Shopping here, I don’t think anybody will be thinking about North Koreans even for a second, none at all,” said Lim Ah-young, a 34-year-old woman from the nearby city of Ilsan.

For limousine driver Lee Jeong-ku, born in 1946