This Article is From May 28, 2009

S Korea on alert after threat from North

S Korea on alert after threat from North

AP image

Seoul: South Korean and US troops went on high alert on Thursday after North Korea threatened an attack on the South and Washington stressed its determination to defend its ally.

Seoul's defence ministry said air and ground forces were keeping a closer watch on the tense land and sea border after the communist North announced it is abandoning the armistice in force since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Tensions have risen sharply since the North Monday tested a nuclear weapon several times more powerful than the one it detonated in 2006. It followed up by test-firing five short-range missiles.

"We are maintaining a tight defence posture to prevent the North's military provocations," said ministry spokesman Won Tae-Jae. "The military will deal sternly with provocative acts."

The United States had stressed its resolve on Wednesday to defend Japan and South Korea amid what it called North Korean "sabre-rattling and bluster".

A Western diplomat at the United Nations said leading powers are committed to tougher sanctions against Pyongyang.

The US headed a UN command which fought for the South in the Korean war. It still stations 28,500 troops there.

"I want to underscore the commitment the United States has, and intends always to honour, for the defence of South Korea and Japan," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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