SKorean troops bracing for possible NKorean attack

Despite the on-going escalation in the region that started with a shelling by North Korea three weeks ago, North Korea has so far backed off threats to strike the South.

The threats followed South Korean live-fire military drills on Yeonpyeong Island, a tiny enclave of fishing communities and military bases within sight of North Korean shores.

Pyongyang considers the waters around the island its territory, and similar drills last month triggered a North Korean artillery barrage that killed four South Koreans, including two construction workers, in the first attack targeting civilian areas since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Top US officials defended South Korea's decision to carry out more drills despite calls for restraint in some quarters amid fears of all-out war, and said South Korea's military was prepared for any future North Korean aggression.

President Lee Myung-bak, in the wake of intense criticism over his handling of last month's attack, gathered his national security advisers for strategic talks Tuesday. Accused of acting too slowly and too weakly last month, his government has threatened airstrikes if hit again and ordered more troops on front-line islands.

"When it provokes, we will firmly punish North Korea," Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers before leaving for the security meeting. Pyongyang denounced the 90-minute exercise as a "reckless military provocation" but held back on its threats while not pulling back its army.

SA-2 ground-to-air missile and ground-to-ship missiles have been deployed in the west and are poised to fire artillery, while South Korean fighter jets continued patrolling the skies and an Aegis-equipped destroyer was ready to counter any possible provocation.

A senior South Korean government official was reported as saying that the lack of response so far does not mean Pyongyang is backing down, noting that North Korea thrives on "surprise" attacks.