Korea, US troops lower alert status

North Korean soldiers stand guard on the banks of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL - NORTH Korea has lowered its military alert status, prompting similar moves by Seoul and US forces as tensions on the Korean peninsula showed signs of easing, a report said on Friday.

The apparent moves came as South Korea held its latest war games to simulate an infiltration by North Korean troops across the disputed Yellow Sea border, officials said.

Tensions have been high since the North shelled South Korea's frontline Yeonpyeong island on November 23.

Yonhap news agency quoted unidentified South Korean government sources as saying that the North recently lifted a special alert it issued on November 21 for its military forces on the coast near the tense sea border.

'The North Korean military recently withdrew an order for special military readiness it had issued in connection with our Hoguk military drills (in November),' a source was quoted as saying.

The South Korean military and US forces in South Korea had consequently reduced their own alert status by one notch to a normal level, the source said. -- AFP