Military eyes lowering N.K. watch level amid no signs of threat

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and U.S. military officials are mulling
over lowering the level of surveillance operations on North Korea amid no signs
of an immediate military provocation by the communist country, military sources
said Saturday.

Officials at the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said it was considering lowering
the "watch condition" by a notch from the current second-highest level, as the
latest military intelligence suggests no sign of an immediate threat by the
North.
The CFC has maintained the current the level of intelligence collection and
monitoring of North Korean military activities since raising "watchcon" to its
second-highest level in late May, following North Korea's second nuclear test
that was also followed by rounds of missile launches into the East Sea.
The CFC runs a five-stage watchcon. The third level calls for "attentive
monitoring" of military activities in the North.
The official said that military officials from the two countries were consulting
on the plan to lower watchcon. The plan is expected to be finalized early next
week after Gen. Walter Sharp, head of the CFC, returns to South Korea from his
trip to the U.S.
South and North Korea are technically in a state of war after the 1950-53 Korean
War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
Pyongyang, whose relations with Seoul have rapidly unraveled over the past year,
has warned of conflicts along their intensely guarded border.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)