Monday, January 19, 2009

South Korea: Military on Alert After N.Korean War Threat / South Korean Military Increased Surveillance Of North Korean Activities - Report

South Korea: Military on Alert After N.Korean War Threat / South Korean Military Increased Surveillance Of North Korean Activities - Report (NSI News Source Info) January 19, 2009: The Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were busy on Saturday after North Korea threatened military action against the South. They put all military forces on increased alert, and Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-young held a video conference with key commanders of the Navy and Air Force in the command in an underground bunker at the ministry. But since there had as of Sunday been no unusual moves by North Korean forces, including in the parts of the West Sea where the North accuses the South of transgressing on its waters, military authorities decided to react calmly, judging that an overreaction is precisely what North Korea is aiming at. They therefore decided not to issue a statement in response to the North's. The same view was the outcome of a meeting chaired by the senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security. Immediately after the North Korean Army statement, South Korean military authority increased surveillance of North Korean activities, employing reconnaissance jets and intercepting radio messages. But an insider said there are no signs of military provocation. Nor does the regular winter training in the North seem to have intensified. The South Korean military, however, is preparing for possible incursions across the NLL in the West Sea and could deploy a 5,000-ton destroyer fleet or two express missile fleets in the rear.

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