N. Korea raises alert ahead of South drill

20/12/2010| IslamWeb

North Korea's military has raised an alert for artillery units based along its west coast ahead of a planned live-fire drill by the South, Yonhap news agency said on Sunday, quoting a government source.

The report of the move raised tensions further on the Korean peninsula hours before the U.N. Security Council was due to meet in emergency session in a bid to cool tensions between the rival Koreas.

Bad weather had so far delayed the South's planned firing drill at a disputed border that has enraged Pyongyang.

The stand-off between the two Koreas has raised international concerns that their spat could quickly spiral out control. Both sides have said they will use military means to defend what they say is their territory off the west coast.

"We understand that there's been an upgrade in alert at artillery units," Yonhap quoted the South Korean government source as saying.

South Korea's defense ministry offered no immediate comment.

China and Russia have called on both Koreas to avoid actions that could inflame tensions. But Washington has backed Seoul's push to go ahead with the planned live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong island, where four South Koreans were killed in an artillery attack last month.

The drill, within eyesight of the North Korean mainland, is scheduled to take place sometime before Tuesday.

PHOTO CAPTION

Anti-war and pro-unification activists chant slogans during a news conference in front of the defense ministry in Seoul December 17, 2010.

Agencies