SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. and South Korea put their military forces on high alert Thursday after North Korea renounced the truce keeping the peace between the two Koreas since 1953 and threatened military action following nuclear and missile tests.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the situation is worrisome but has not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region. Any military actions would need to be decided upon by broad international agreement, he said.
“I don’t think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis,” Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early this morning.
The Army’s top officer, Gen. George Casey, expressed confidence that the U.S. could fight a conventional war against North Korea if necessary, despite continuing conflicts elsewhere.
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion and short- range missile test launches this week, drawing strong international condemnation. The U.N. Security Council has been discussing how to punish the regime for the blast Monday that President Barack Obama called a “blatant violation” of international law.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said Thursday that there is wide agreement among key world powers on what a new U.N. resolution should include to respond to North Korea’s second nuclear test which violated a Security Council ban. But Churkin cautioned that putting the elements together and getting agreement will take time.
On Thursday, South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert to the highest level since 2006 when North Korea carried out its first nuclear test. About 28,000 American troops are stationed across the South.
The South has said its military would “respond sternly” to any North Korean provocation and that it would be able to contain the North with the help of U.S. troops.
