Alert level raised on North Korea

South Korean and US troops have gone on higher alert after North Korea announced it is scrapping the armistice in force on the peninsula.

Seoul's defence ministry said the "Combined Forces Command upgraded Watch Conditions by a notch to Stage Two".

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says North Korea will face consequences for its "provocative and belligerent" actions towards its neighbours.

The UN Security Council is discussing a response to North Korea's nuclear test.

"Surveillance over the North will be stepped up, with more aircraft and personnel mobilised," Seoul's defence ministry spokesman Won Tae-Jae told AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton has reaffirmed US commitments to allies Japan and South Korea.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that while world powers should be firm, they should not inflame tensions.

He said they needed to avoid punishment "for the sake of punishment" alone.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it had abandoned the truce that ended the Korean war, two days after it conducted an underground nuclear test.

It blamed its decision on South Korea joining a US-led initiative to search ships for nuclear weapons, calling it a "declaration of war".

The United Nations Security Council is working on a strong resolution condemning North Korea's actions, including possible punitive measures.

'Sabre-rattling'

The White House accused North Korea of seeking attention.

"We're certainly concerned and take any threat seriously, but my sense is they're trying to get renewed attention through sabre-rattling and bluster and threats," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Mrs Clinton condemned the North's violation of UN Security Council resolutions and commitments made during six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

"North Korea has made a choice... There are consequences to such actions," she said, but also held out hope that North Korea would return to talks.

"There will be an opportunity for North Korea to come back into a framework of discussion within the six-party process and that we can begin once again to see results from working with the North Koreans toward denuclearisation," she told reporters in Washington.

Mrs Clinton said she was pleased by a unified international condemnation of North Korea that included Russia and China, North Korea's only major ally.

Earlier Russia's foreign minister called for a strong UN resolution to condemn Monday's nuclear test, but said the stand-off could only be solved through talks.

"I repeat again, we must stand up for the non-proliferation regime and at the same time we must not forget that problems can be resolved only through talks," Mr Lavrov said.

Diplomats from the five permanent Security Council member countries - plus Japan and South Korea - have been meeting behind closed doors to agree a new resolution against North Korea.

'War declaration'

On Monday, North Korea fanned tensions in the Korean peninsula by conducting a powerful underground nuclear test.

It has also fired six short-range missiles in recent days.

Then on Wednesday, it said that it no longer considered itself bound by the terms of a truce which ended the war between the two Koreas.

That agreement has preserved a tense peace for more than five decades.

In a statement to the North's official news agency, KCNA, the military said its actions followed South Korea's announcement on Tuesday that it would definitely join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) - a US-led campaign to search ships carrying suspicious cargoes to prevent trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.

"Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels, including search and seizure, will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty," a spokesman for the North's army told KCNA.

"We will immediately respond with a powerful military strike."

Last month North Korea launched a long-range rocket over Japanese airspace, angering the international community. Pyongyang said the rocket carried a satellite, but several nations viewed it as cover for a missile test.

The UN Security Council condemned the rocket launch, and in retaliation, North Korea announced it was quitting long-running six-nation negotiations on its nuclear disarmament.

It also said it would reopen its main nuclear plant at Yongbyon, which was closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament deal.

A few years ago there was real hope of reaching a settlement, when North Korea agreed in February 2007 to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.

But the negotiations stalled as it accused its negotiating partners - the US, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia - of failing to meet agreed obligations.
**************************************************************************************
What kinds of repercussions do you think could result from North Korea believing it no longer needs to abide by the truce that ended the Korean war?

Do you think the, "Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) - a US-led campaign to search ships carrying suspicious cargoes to prevent trafficking of weapons of mass destruction" is justified? Can you argue for and against this tactic?

Here is the text of the armistice, signed July 1953. It was signed with the intention of being temporary, but a true cease-fire has never been agreed upon.
**************************************************************************************