U.S., Seoul pause exercises as North threatens war

Kim Hjelmgaard and Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 5 reasons North and South Korea are on the brink of war North and South Korea have been in a pseudo state of war since the Korean War ended in 1953. Here are five things to know about their most recent conflict.

Amid threats of war from North Korea, an annual joint military exercise with the U.S. and South Korea was briefly halted, U.S. officials said Friday.

The latest developments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared his front-line troops were in a "quasi-state of war" and ordered them to prepare for battle against South Korea in response to an exchange of artillery fire Thursday along the border.

David Shear, assistant secretary for Asia issues, told Pentagon reporters the U.S. commander in South Korea decided to pause the exercise after consulting with South Korean military officials. He added that commanders needed to receive briefings about Thursday's gunfire incident to make sure that both the U.S. and South Korea had "a mutual understanding of what the situation is."

U.S. forces were at an increased security status for the exercise and "are remaining on an enhanced status as part of the exercise and, of course, to ensure adequate deterrence on the peninsula," Shear said.

He said the U.S. is continuing to monitor the situation closely and is calling on Pyongyang to "refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and stability."

The orders from Kim came as he chaired an emergency meeting of the North's powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), according to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The Ulchi Freed Guardian Exercises 2015, which began Monday and are scheduled to run through Aug. 28, involve 30,000 U.S. troops and 50,000 South Korean troops and also include forces from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, according to the U.S. Forces Korea website.The UFK notes the exercise is "planned months in advance and it is not connected to any current world events."

In response to the latest saber-rattling, South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo warned North Korea it will face “searing” consequences if it continues to provoke the South.

"This time, we’ll cut off a vicious circle of North Korean provocation,” he said, according to the Associated Press

China said it was "deeply concerned" about the situation and urged calm and restraint, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

The North's CMC endorsed Kim's ultimatum that South Korea turn off loudspeakers that the North says are broadcasting propaganda across the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries.

The North has threatened severe military consequences if the South does not stop the broadcast and remove the banks of loudspearks. The South has until 5 p.m. North Korean time (4:30 a.m. ET) Saturday to comply.

The broadcasts began after South Korea accused the North of planting land mines that maimed two South Korean soldiers earlier this month. North Korea denies that allegation.

"The Korean People's Army (KPA) front-line large combined units entered into a wartime state all at once, fully armed to launch surprise operations and wound up their preparedness for action," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

The report also said that North Korean soldiers are waiting for "an order of attack" to destroy its enemy, warning that the loudspeakers are "within the sight of the KPA's multiple rocket launchers and tactical and strategic rocket forces."

In an unusual move, a senior North Korean military officer held a rare "emergency situation briefing" for diplomats and military attaches in Pyongyang to deliver its side of the crisis, AP reported from its bureau in the North Korean capital.

Kim Yong Chol, director of the general reconnaissance bureau of the North Korean army, said all front-line units are on full war readiness and citizens are now in a "quasi-state of war."

The escalating war rhetoric comes a day after what some military analysts described as the most serious confrontation between the rival Koreas in years but others said simply reflected a periodic ratcheting up in tensions between the neighboring countries.

On Thursday, South Korea fired dozens of artillery rounds at North Korea in response to what it said were North Korean artillery strikes directed at Seoul. Pyongyang said it did not fire the shells. No one was injured in the incidents.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday that Kim Jong Un ordered his military to be ready for potential action later in the day. “Military commanders were urgently dispatched for operations to attack South Korean psychological warfare facilities if the South doesn’t stop operating them,” the report said, according to AP.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Friday that Seoul's intelligence agencies detected the movement of vehicles carrying short-range Scud and medium-range Rodong missiles in possible preparation for launches.

The report cited anonymous government officials. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it could not confirm the report, according to the AP.

South Korea is accustomed to discounting North Korea’s repeated threats and the seriousness of this latest clash remains unclear.

"The fact that both sides' shells didn't damage anything means they did not want to spread an armed clash. There is always a chance for war, but that chance is very, very low," Yang Moo-jin, a professor in North Korean studies in Seoul, told Reuters.

Korea was a unified nation until the end of the Korean War in 1953. Tensions between the two sides have escalated in recent years as Pyongyang pursued its nuclear ambitions.