US forces put on alert for N Korea

US aircraft and warships were put on alert for possible deployment of troops to deter N Korea as the IAEA set a meeting next week expected t...

US aircraft and warships were put on alert for possible deployment of troops to deter N Korea as the IAEA set a meeting next week expected to refer the Communist North’s nuclear crisis to UN.

US defence officials said on Monday the possible deployment to the western Pacific was designed to deter any N Korean aggression in case of war in Iraq. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was yet to issue any orders to move B-52 bombers, or naval units closer to the Korean peninsula.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry declined to comment on the US

contingency plans, pending Pentagon confirmation.

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The official Korean Central News Agency reported that N Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Defence Minister Kim Il-Chol had toured a naval unit on Monday.

Meanwhile, in Vienna, IAEA said that its governing board will hold an emergency session on February 12. IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei said the board was likely to hand the issue to UN Security Council.

‘‘I’ve exhausted all possibilities within my power to bring N Korea into compliance,’’ he said. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said it was ‘‘standard practice’’ to review force deployments when the US military faced possible operations in other regions.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed last week that the US had ‘‘no intention of attacking’’ North Korea and was ready to convey that assurance in a way ‘‘that makes sense and … is unmistakable’’.

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North Korea says talks with Washington leading to the signing of a non-aggression pact is the only way to resolve the crisis. However, ElBaradei said North Korea was wrong in portraying the stand-off as merely a bilateral issue with Washington.

‘‘The US disagrees with that, almost everybody disagrees with that, and I disagree with that,’’ he said. ‘‘I think it’s an international issue that has a lot to do with peace and security…an issue of concern to the world at large.’’ (Reuters)