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ROK, US raise watch level on DPRK: YONHAP

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-28 11:47

SEOUL -- The Rupulic of Korea (ROK) -US Combined Command Forces raised the watch level against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by one notch on Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official.

Related readings:  DPRK scraps truce, raises tension in region with threats  Russia sounds cautious note on DPRK resolution  DPRK changes the rules of the nuclear game  Yonhap: DPRK seemingly have restarted nuclear facility  DPRK officials fete nuclear test

According to the ROK defense spokesman Won Tae-jae, the Combined Forces raised the Watchcon system, the process of changing the reconnaissance posture for strategic and tactical warning of attack, at local time 07:15 Thursday (2215 GMT Wednesday) from Level 3 to Level 2.

The second level of the five-stage system marks "vital indications of threat," under which the ROK and US forces are to step up their intelligence-collection activities.

Meanwhile, the five-stage alerting procedure, "Defcon," remains at four, the official said.

The recent decision marks the first elevation in the Watchcon since October 2006 when the DPRK conducted its first nuclear test.

The Watchcon raise came amid rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Monday, followed by continuous military threats with several short-range missile firings.

The ROK reacted with announcing its full participation in a US-led nonproliferation campaign, which the DPRK had warned to be regarded as a declaration of war.