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South Korea heightens war alert

Special police officers stand guard against possible terrorist attacks at Incheon International Airport in South Korea yesterday. South Korea's military went on heightened alert yesterday against possible North Korean attempts to raise tension on the Korean Peninsula amid war in Iraq. PHOTO: AP

South Korea's military went on heightened alert yesterday against possible North Korean attempts to use the distraction of war in Iraq to raise tension on the Korean Peninsula.

With the US focused on Iraq, South Korean officials fear North Korea might use the opportunity to cause alarm across the heavily guarded border with South Korea in an attempt to force Washington into direct negotiations.

Tensions have escalated on the Korean Peninsula in recent months over the communist state's nuclear programs.

"We expect North Korea to be cautious, but we have strengthened our alert status and our early warning status in response to possible North Korean attempts to increase tensions," presidential spokeswoman Song Kyoung-hee said, without elaborating.

South Korea's national Yonhap news agency, quoting unidentified sources, said South Korea elevated its military's Watch Condition to a level two for the first time in seven years.

The move affects mostly military intelligence and other units assigned to watch the tense border and does not involve any major southern troop movements.

"We expect North Korea to be cautious, but we have strengthened our alert status and our early warning status in response to possible North Korean attempts to increase tensions."

Song Kyoung-hee, South Korean presidential spokeswoman

The Defense Ministry would not confirm the Yonhap report.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun planned to convene his National Security Council meeting Thursday to discuss the war's economic and security implications on the Korean Peninsula. Later in the day, he may address the nation in a live, televised speech.

South Korea elevated its Watch Condition to a level two in 1996 when North Korean troops marched into the truce village of Panmunjom on the Korean boder to raise tensions.

Earlier yesterday, US Vice President Dick Cheney called Roh to explain Washington's decision to start war on Iraq, Song said.

Roh told Cheney that South Korea honors an alliance with the US, its key ally, and that his government will provide assistance for US war efforts and help protect US citizens and facilities in South Korea from possible terrorist attacks, the spokeswoman said.

Yesterday, South Korea said it backed the war in Iraq and said it may dispatch non-combat troops to help. Seoul also said it will step up security at US military bases and other areas in the event of war.

Police patrols will be boosted at nearly 700 foreign facilities across South Korea, including embassies and diplomats' residences, which could be targeted for attack by terrorists or violent protesters, the National Police Agency said.

South Korea's support for the US puts it in a small coalition of nations willing to aid Washington in a bid to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The US military in South Korea announced plans to implement a new curfew beginning late yesterday.

"The new curfew is aimed at protecting US soldiers and civilian employees from anybody that might want to potentially use the world situation to their benefits," said Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the US Eighth Army stationed in South Korea.

All of the 37,000 US soldiers stationed in South Korea must be off the streets by 7:30pm, several hours earlier than the normal curfew, he said.
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