South Korea and the United States raised the military alert level for the peninsula today after the communist North warned the truce ending the Korean War was dead and it was ready to attack.
North Korea ramped up tensions this week with a series of provocations rarely seen since the 1950-53 Korean War, including war threats, missile launches and a nuclear test that puts it closer to having an atomic bomb.
The joint command for the 28,500 U.S. troops that support South Korea's 670,000 soldiers has raised its alert a notch to signify a serious threat from North Korea, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
It is the highest threat level since the North's only other nuclear test in October 2006.
North Korea looks certain to face fresh sanctions for defying a UN resolution by exploding a nuclear device for a second time, Western diplomat said, with a vote in the 15-nation Security Council expected next week.
North Korea could be set for further provocations that include additional short-range missile tests off its west coast, the South's Yonhap news agency last night quoted an unnamed government source as saying.
Analysts said the North's sabre-rattling might be partly aimed at firming leader Kim Jong-il's grip on power and helping him draw up succession plans in Asia's only communist dynasty after a suspected stroke in August raised questions over his rule.
Weapons experts point out that while North Korea is pushing hard to develop a nuclear arsenal, it does not have an effective way to attack with an atomic warhead or bomb.
Security Council powers have agreed in principle that North Korea must face sanctions, Western diplomats said yesterday.
Possible steps include a ban on importing and exporting all arms and not just heavy weapons, asset freezes and travel bans for North Korean officials, and placing more firms on a UN blacklist.
The measures would expand on sanctions approved by the council after Pyongyang's 2006 nuclear test, penalties that have been widely ignored and left unenforced.
The diplomats said cargo inspections were also possible, although China, worried about instability in its neighbour and the closest Pyongyang can claim as a major ally, is reluctant.
US officials have urged China to pressure North Korea to step back from nuclear brinkmanship and return to stalled disarmament talks. But many Chinese analysts say Washington overstates Beijing's sway over Pyongyang, as well as their government's willingness to use that influence.
"Undoubtedly, China also wants a swift and united response, but it probably won't give the United States all it wants. China has its own worries," said Shi Yinhong, an expert on regional security at Renmin University in Beijing.
Reuters