North Korean army on high alert over US-South Korean maneuvers

Seoul - Pyongyang said it put its troops into combat-ready positions on Monday as the US and South Korea began a series of joint military exercises, news reports said. In a statement released through the state media, the Korean People's Army (KPA) said its troops would take action if the joint maneuvers in South Korea encroached over the border "by even 0.001 millimeters," news agency Yonhap reported.

Pyongyang called the planned exercise a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korea, and threatened "powerful counteraction," a military spokesman was quoted as saying by state media on February 25.

The statement released Monday through the Korean Central News Agency said KPA forces "should keep themselves highly alerted to mercilessly crush the aggressors," according to the Yonhap report.

As of Monday morning, there were no indications of unusual military movement in North Korea, Seoul's defence ministry said, nor had the North imposed any unusual restrictions on border traffic.

Seoul and Washington maintain that the annual maneuvers scheduled for March 8-18 are exclusively defence-oriented. Around 20,000 South Korean soldiers were involved, the ministry added.

The heightened tension came amid increased diplomatic efforts to get North Korea back to the six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear program. The talks include North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Pyongyang said Sunday that it would refuse any dialogue on nuclear or other military issues as long as the drill on the other side of the border continues, the Yonhap report said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/312988,north-korean-army-on-high-alert-over-us-south-korean-manoeuvres.html.