Seoul awoke early Wednesday morning to blaring air raid sirens and “wartime alert” messages sent to all mobile phones, advising the capital’s 10 million recipients to prepare to evacuate. 

“At 6:32 a.m. today, a warning is issued for the Seoul area,” the Korean-language “presidential alert” read. “Please prepare to evacuate and give priority to children and the elderly to evacuate first.”

It soon became clear that a North Korean satellite launch triggered the alert, and Seoul authorities backtracked on the warning some 30 minutes later, calling the evacuation notice a “mistake.”

But several experts told NK Newsthat the harm