<p>South Korea said an increasingly aggressive North may be preparing fresh moves after Chinese fishing boats were spotted leaving a disputed sea border on the west coast.<br />South Korea and the United States have raised the military alert level in the region after the isolated state followed Monday’s nuclear test with missile launches and a threat of war.<br />Regional powers are waiting to see what the North might do next. Many speculate it may opt for a naval skirmish in disputed waters off the west coast, which should be getting crowded as the lucrative crab fishing season starts.<br />In New York, the United States and Japan circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution to key members, condemning Pyongyang’s second nuclear test and demanding strict enforcement of sanctions after the North’s first atomic test in October 2006.<br />North Korea, in its first response to threatened sanctions, said it would take “self-defence measures” if it was punished.<br />It gave no details other than to say such a move would nullify the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. <br />Yonhap quoted an unnamed government source as saying the North fired the short-range rocket from its Musudan-ri missile base around dusk, making it the fifth to be launched since the nuclear test. Most of the missiles are believed to have a range of around 130 km.<br />The two Koreas have fought two deadly naval skirmishes on their disputed maritime border in the past 10 years and the North has warned another could happen soon.<br />Alert level raised<br />The joint command for the 28,500 US troops supporting South Korea’s 6,70,000 soldiers has raised its alert a notch to signify a serious threat from North Korea. That is the highest threat level since the North’s other nuclear test in 2006. It calls for stepped-up surveillance but not an increase in manoeuvres by troops.<br /></p>
<p>South Korea said an increasingly aggressive North may be preparing fresh moves after Chinese fishing boats were spotted leaving a disputed sea border on the west coast.<br />South Korea and the United States have raised the military alert level in the region after the isolated state followed Monday’s nuclear test with missile launches and a threat of war.<br />Regional powers are waiting to see what the North might do next. Many speculate it may opt for a naval skirmish in disputed waters off the west coast, which should be getting crowded as the lucrative crab fishing season starts.<br />In New York, the United States and Japan circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution to key members, condemning Pyongyang’s second nuclear test and demanding strict enforcement of sanctions after the North’s first atomic test in October 2006.<br />North Korea, in its first response to threatened sanctions, said it would take “self-defence measures” if it was punished.<br />It gave no details other than to say such a move would nullify the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. <br />Yonhap quoted an unnamed government source as saying the North fired the short-range rocket from its Musudan-ri missile base around dusk, making it the fifth to be launched since the nuclear test. Most of the missiles are believed to have a range of around 130 km.<br />The two Koreas have fought two deadly naval skirmishes on their disputed maritime border in the past 10 years and the North has warned another could happen soon.<br />Alert level raised<br />The joint command for the 28,500 US troops supporting South Korea’s 6,70,000 soldiers has raised its alert a notch to signify a serious threat from North Korea. That is the highest threat level since the North’s other nuclear test in 2006. It calls for stepped-up surveillance but not an increase in manoeuvres by troops.<br /></p>