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South Korea's military is considering upgrading its surveillance alert as North Korea conducted its first-ever nuclear test Monday morning, but the United States is opposed to the idea, Seoul's top defense official said.

"We've asked for the Watchcon surveillance upgrade but the U.S. said it is not necessary because there is no sign of unusual activity in North Korea," Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said in an emergency parliamentary hearing.

When asked about whether it is related to the U.S. relinquishing its wartime operational control of South Korea's military, Yoon said, "It is affected for some reasons." He declined to elaborate.

South Korea and the U.S. are in the middle of negotiations over the transfer of the wartime command. South Korea hopes to regain it by 2012, while the U.S. has proposed handing it over by three years earlier. They had planned to unveil the timeline of the transfer during the upcoming talks in Washington. Earlier in the day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it was considering raising the Watchcon surveillance status, while the Defcon defense readiness status is not a subject of consideration.

Following North Korea's nuclear weapon test, the military stepped up its vigilance against possible aggression by increasing the number of troops near land and sea borders, but it is maintaining its alert level as in usual defense situations. The troops are currently at the Watchcon 3 surveillance status and Defcon 4 defense readiness status, according to the JCS.

"We have yet to detect any unusual military movement in North Korea so far. South Korea and the U.S. are closely working together to share intelligence," Col. Ha Doo-chul, spokesman for the JCS said noting that Yoon will preside over a meeting of senior military commanders on Tuesday to discuss how to cope with North Korea's nuclear weapon test.

Gen. Lee Sang-hee, chairman of the JCS, talked with Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, over the phone to discuss ways of responding to the situation, Ha added.

When tensions rise and provocative acts occur, the alert status is upgraded. In war, it is raised to Watchcon 1 and Defcon 1. In June 1999, when a naval battle between South and North Korea took place, the first of its kind since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korean forces were put on a Watchcon 2 surveillance status and Defcon 3 defense posture.
Seoul, Oct. 9 (Yonhap News)