S Korea, U.S. raise watch level on DPRK: YONHAP

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SEOUL, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The South Korea-U.S. Combined Command Forces raised the watch level against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by one notch on Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official.

According to South Korean defense spokesman Won Tae-jae, the Combined Forces raised the Watchcon system, the process of changing the reconnaissance posture for strategic and tactical warning of attack, at local time 07:15 Thursday (2215 GMT Wednesday) from Level 3 to Level 2.

The second level of the five-stage system marks "vital indications of threat," under which the South Korean and U.S. forces are to step up their intelligence-collection activities.

Meanwhile, the five-stage alerting procedure, "Defcon," remains at four, the official said.

The recent decision marks the first elevation in the Watchcon since October 2006 when the DPRK conducted its first nuclear test.

The Watchcon raise came amid rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Monday, followed by continuous military threats with several short-range missile firings.

South Korea reacted with announcing its full participation in a U.S.-led nonproliferation campaign, which the DPRK had warned to be regarded as a declaration of war.