The lives of Seoul residents still go on as normal as if North Korea had never declared a `state of war`.

Late in the afternoon, the deserted streets of Seoul were suddenly filled with streams of people rushing out of work.

`We are in the post-war period, and I don’t feel worried about that at all,` said a reporter specializing in local news.

Seoul is only about 50 km south of the South-North Korean demilitarized zone, the most tense border area on earth.

North Korea’s military strength is undeniable, and it has become an existential threat, especially to the South Korean people.

However, the people of Seoul, up to now, are still engrossed in life and dismiss all worries.

`We don’t feel anything,` CNN quoted a young Seoul man as saying.

In fact, Korean people have every right to express concern about this situation.

`We know North Korea doesn’t want war,` another said.

`They want money and food,` this person said, adding that Pyongyang is trying to use everything it has, from missiles, nuclear weapons, to powerful military forces, to cause trouble.

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, at the Asian Leadership Conference last week, declared in front of hundreds of people that North Korea knew that an attack on South Korea would be `the end of a regime`.

He encouraged the Korean people to be optimistic, because they belong to a part of the world that is increasingly richer and more developed, in opposition to the direction of the Pyongyang leadership.

However, millions of residents of the capital Seoul cannot represent the entire country of Korea.

`We are not like people who live on borders or islands,` a Seoul resident said, referring to the 2010 shelling that killed four Koreans on Yeonpyeong Island, in the area.

For those living in Seoul, the risk of the Korean capital being attacked is almost unimaginable.

Quynh Hoa