The World - News from March 21, 1988

North Korea ordered a full combat alert of all its armed forces in response to current U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers, the official North Korean News Agency said. “This is a self-defense measure to cope with the new war provocation moves of the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean military clique,” the news agency said. The communique added that 150,000 troops now in construction work have been put on alert, along with the regular armed forces and all members of the “worker-peasant Red Guard and Red Young Guard.” In the past, Pyongyang has frequently announced similar alerts during U.S.-South Korean exercises.