N Korea issues aid raid warning, seen as drill

SEOUL - Agence France-Presse

This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 20, 2013 shows a self-propelled suface to air missile during a live military drill overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at an undisclosed location. Kim Jong-Un oversaw a live fire military drill using drones and cruise missile interceptors, state media said on March 20, amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS

North Korea issued an air raid warning on Thursday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said quoting a radio broadcast monitored in Seoul. A news report said the warning appeared to be part of a defence drill.

The warning was issued at 0032 GMT and carried a message to military units to stand ready, but the action appeared to be a drill under an air raid scenario, Yonhap news agency said.

An official at the Unification Ministry, which handles ties with the North and monitors North Korea's news broadcasts, confirmed air raid warning on Thursday morning.
 
The official could not confirm whether the warning was part of a drill. The two Koreas remain technically at war under a truce that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Tensions have been high with the rivals exchanging verbal barbs.
 
North Korea has been conducting large-scale military drills coinciding with annual exercises by the South Korean and U.S. forces running to the end of April. The allies have stressed the drills are strictly defensive in nature.