South Korean forces deployed in Iraq as part of U.S.-led rehabilitation efforts were put on high alert Monday after the Iraq’s interim government declared a state of emergency on Sunday.

The emergency law would apply throughout Iraq except in the Kurdish north where the Zaytun unit is stationed. However, a sweeping strike by U.S. forces in the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja will likely push militants northward, according to military experts.

``The Defense Ministry ordered the Zaytun unit to step up its security as the emergency state in Iraq may prompt terrorists to move to the northern part where the state of emergency is not applied,’’ an official at the Defense Ministry said, requesting anonymity.

The unit immediately stopped its service members from exiting the base for security concerns, and maintained the ``red’’ status regarding the security level in Iraq, which signals a most dangerous situation next to ``black.’’

However, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung flatly denied any possibility that Iraqi insurgent may infiltrate the northern Iraqi town of Irbil where Zaytun is deployed, saying, ``40,000 Iraqi policemen and local militias are in Irbil to protect the unit.’’

The minister also said that about 680 explosives planted around the Zaytun unit were being removed from July, suggesting the South Korean troop is still exposed to unexpected explosions. The unit is known to have removed only one land mine so far.

Meanwhile, Yoon stressed that the Zaytun unit will not join the U.S. operation for combat purposes under any circumstance as its mission in Iraq is to help reconstruct the war-devastated country.

``The purpose of the Zaytun unit is clearly understood as to help reestablish peace and aid rehabilitation in Iraq by the U.S. side,’’ Yoon continued. ``Therefore the U.S. forces will not demand the unit to join its offensive operation.’’

The state of emergency was designed for 60 days to combat the ongoing violence in the war-torn nation ahead of the general elections slated for next January.

The ministry said the Zaytun unit exchanges all the necessary information on possible terror attacks with the Kurdish Regional Government, and added there is no evidence that any terrorists are targeting the Korean contingent in Iraq.

South Korea has 2,800 soldiers in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil for peace-keeping and rehabilitation work, making it the third-largest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition after the U.S. and Britain. It plans to increase the number to around 3,600.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr