S. Korea to raise alert over N. Korea during ASEAN summit: commander

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to elevate its military alert against
North Korean provocation when President Lee Myung-bak holds meetings with the
leaders of Southeast Asian countries early next month, a senior commander said
Tuesday.
South Korea will host the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit from June 1-2 on its
southern resort island of Jeju. ASEAN stands for the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
The talks come as tension runs high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea
conducted its second nuclear test Monday and fired short-range missiles from its
east coast.
"It is our assessment that further provocation, if any, is likely during the
summit next week," a South Korean commander said after an emergency meeting of
some 140 ranking officers and defense officials in Seoul.
The commander, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to
speak to the media, said the military plans to heighten its alert level from May
31 to June 2.
"Our surveillance over North Korea will be stepped up, especially on the sea," he
said, adding a naval unit led by a rear admiral will lead the security forces
during the meetings.
Since President Lee took office early last year with a pledge to get tough on
Pyongyang, relations between the Koreas deteriorated to their worst level in a
decade.
North Korea, which blames Lee for the frayed ties, has threatened armed conflict
this year along their western sea border, where clashes turned deadly in 1999 and
2002.
It conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, and fired a long-range rocket on
April 5 this year despite international warnings and a U.N. resolution banning it
from such action.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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