N Korea in bid to get South on side

SOUTH KOREA'S Defence Ministry called for a stronger alliance with Washington, while North Korea stepped up its campaign yesterday to bring South Korea to its side in a standoff with the United States.

The ministry backed the presence of US troops in South Korea, saying their withdrawal "could send foreign investors flooding out of the country in fear of instability, throw the economy into turmoil and give North Korea a chance for provocation".

"North Korea tries to weaken the South Korea-US alliance's capability of deterring war," it said in a commentary in the January issue of the ministry's "Defence News." South Korea must strengthen its alliance with Washington to check North Korea and also protect security in north-east Asia, a region with a history of conflicts, it said. About 37,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea.