In an apparent response to the joint military exercises being conducted with South Korea and the U.S., North Korea approved a nuclear strike on the U.S. on April 4, according to an English-language version of North Korea’s state-run news agency, KCNA.

In a briefing last week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel wasn’t taking North Korea’s provocative statements lightly.

“They have ratcheted up their bellicose, dangerous rhetoric and some of the actions they’ve taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger,” Hagel said in the briefing.

Students, including international students from the region, aren’t taking it lightly either.

General management junior Dong Wook Kim is vice president of the Korean Student Organization. Kim grew up in South Korea, where his family resides. He said the latest developments worry him.

“I actually spent almost two years in (the) Korean Army from 2010 to 2011, and at the time North Korea was shooting bombs into South Korean territory,” Kim said, referring to two brief skirmishes between the neighboring countries that resulted in numerous casualties. “(But) this is the worse level (of tension).”

The distance might make a difference in how Koreans at home and abroad react to the news, said Yasumasa Komori, a specialist in foreign and security policy in East Asia and an assistant professor of international relations at James Madison College.

“My guess is that South Korean people back home have tried to stay calm and tried not to overreact — to live their daily lives as much as possible,” said Komori, who hails from Japan. “Overreacting is exactly what the North Koreans want. South Koreans over here, hearing all the news from CNN and international news, I guess they are probably more worried.”

Although some U.S. officials have estimated North Korea is several years from achieving the missile technology needed to reach the U.S. with nuclear warheads, a coalition of Japanese, South Korean, and U.S. forces have prepared several missile defense measures as a safeguard.

Three study abroad programs take place in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, which is about 35 miles from the demilitarized zone separating the north from the south.

Despite the threats of an attack, a Wednesday statement from MSU’s Office of Study Abroad noted official do not anticipate any changes to the programs.

“MSU students, faculty and staff who are currently abroad or planning to study or travel in South Korea are encouraged to take precautions at this time that include maintaining a heightened level of attention to media and travel alerts for the Korean Peninsula, closely monitoring developments in the Korean peninsula prior to and during your stay, and reconsidering any travel plans to North Korea due to the increased level of political tensions,” according to the statement.