By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter


The government on Wednesday cast doubt on the authenticity of recent terrorist threats targeting South Koreans but said it will remain on high alert to guard against attacks.

In the second threat in nine days, a group claiming to be linked to al-Qaida on Tuesday warned it will strike Seoul if the government does not withdraw its troops from Iraq.

``This is a second warning to the agent South Korean government _ kneeling before the crusading Americans. You only have seven days or else we will burn Seoul and make it crumble,’’ said the message, which was posted on an Islamic Web site.

It follows a similar threat on Oct. 10 that gave Seoul two weeks to comply and said agents have already infiltrated South Korea and are ready to strike. The author claimed to be part of al-Qaida’s Southeast Asian network, mentioning an unknown group called the Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion.

However, officials in Seoul said the authenticity of the threat is ``relatively low.’’

Spelling mistakes and the writing style indicated the message was posted by an individual rather than the member of a group, a government official said on condition of anonymity, adding that it is unlikely the author could carry out the attacks.

Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, said the government is carefully analyzing the threat and will continue to keep tight security around airports and diplomatic missions. ``We are not letting down our guard and will make every effort to protect Koreans overseas,’’ he said.

But Ban believed it is important that the public does not become alarmed over the possibility of an attack. ``It could create anxieties among the public and negatively affect the country’s economy, and then we would be drawn in by their psychological warfare strategy,’’ he told reporters during a briefing.

Tuesday’s threat addressed itself directly to the South Korean people. ``If you do not pressure your government into leaving the pure Iraq, you will only have yourselves to blame when you are surrounded by a destroyed city,’’ it warned.

South Korea has deployed 2,800 troops to the Kurdish city of Irbil in northern Iraq, making it the third-largest international force in the war-torn country after the United States and Britain.

In June, a South Korean interpreter working in Iraq was kidnapped and beheaded by insurgents after Seoul refused to bow to demands to halt its troop dispatch.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr