4:02pm UK, Thursday May 28, 2009

Peter Sharp in South Korea

The spectre of war loomed ever larger as South Korean and US troops boosted alert levels after the renegade North Korea regime threatened military strikes.

South Korea places its forces on high alert as North Korea threatens military action

Amid escalating tensions over its nuclear test, communist North Korea threatened to attack any US and South Korean ships intercepting its vessels as part of a UN initiative to halt the flow of weapons of mass destruction in and out of the north.

Kim Jong Il also renounced the 1953 truce halting the Korean War, raising the prospect of a naval clash off the Korean peninsula’s west coast.

South Korean tourists who had gathered on Freedom Bridge looking into the north into the demilitarised zone (DMZ) were in a reflective mood today, freely admitting they were worried.

Park Jung Man said: “I have a son serving in the army so obviously it is difficult.

“North Korea has always been threatening us and we are used to that but this is the worst time I can remember.”

North Korea Interactive

See who could be affected by a North Korean missile attack – and how they’ve reacted to the threat.

Pak In said her son is facing conscription: “I hope there won’t be war but we are all very worried.”

It’s a view shared by many of the people of Seoul, who have spent their lives under the guns and within range of the massed ranks of North Korean artillery along the DMZ less than 30 miles from the capital.

Since North Korea detonated its underground nuclear device on Monday Kim Jong Il’s regime has cranked up tensions with threats backed up by missile launches.

Combined South Korean and US forces increased the alert level to three – the highest since 2006 when the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il

The US has 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.

The bolstered level, the highest since 2006, means more aviation surveillance, intelligence analysis and other intelligence-collecting measures to watch North Korea.

Analysts believe the North’s sabre rattling might be partly aimed at firming leader Kim Jong Il’s grip on power.

After a suspected stroke last August Kim Jong Il may be wanting to solidify his position before drawing up plans for a successor.

Weapons experts have pointed out that North Korea’s push to develop a nuclear arsenal may be because the country does not have an effective way to attack with an atomic warhead or bomb.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced North Korea’s “provocative and belligerent” threats.

Security Council powers have agreed in principle that North Korea must face sanctions for defying a UN resolution put in place after its previous nuclear test.

Possible steps include a ban on importing and exporting all arms, asset freezes, travel bans for North Korean officials and placing more firms on a UN blacklist.