South Korean elementary school students wearing gas masks while they participate in a lesson on how to use a gas mask in a nuclear attack in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2009. South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert Thursday to the highest level since 2006 after North Korea renounced its truce with the allied forces and threatened to strike any ships trying to intercept its vessels.
SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. and South Korea put their military forces on high alert after North Korea renounced the truce keeping the peace between the two Koreas since 1953 and threatened military action following nuclear and missile tests.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the situation is worrisome but has not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region. Any military actions would need to be decided upon by broad international agreement, he said.
"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early Friday morning, still Thursday night in Washington.
The Army's top officer, Gen. George Casey, expressed confidence that the U.S. could fight a conventional war against North Korea if necessary, despite continuing conflicts elsewhere.
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion and a series of short-range missile test launches this week, drawing strong international condemnation. The U.N. Security Council has been discussing how to punish the regime for Monday's blast that President Barack Obama called a "blatant violation" of international law.
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