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Two dozen B-52 and B-1 bombers have been ordered to prepare to deploy to the western Pacific to back up US forces in South Korea as the US military mobilizes for war in the Gulf, a Pentagon official said Monday.

Twelve B-52 bombers and an equal number of B-1 bombers were being prepared to move to Guam, the official said, adding that no decision had yet been taken to send them. The orders involve about 2,000 air force personnel, the official said.

They followed a request by the commander of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral Thomas Fargo, for additional forces to deter North Korea at a time when the United States is engaged in a showdown with Iraq, the official said.

"You always want to send the message: don't underestimate us," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "So he (Fargo) came in with additional requests for forces which would show Korea that though we are focused on Iraq, don't think this is the moment to do something."

"Some forces have been put on 'prepare to move,' including the bombers and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)," the official said.

The official would not say what intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance forces were tapped.

US defense officials report no unusual military preparations by North Korea, but there is mounting US concern over North Korean moves to revive its nuclear weapons program.

Some US intelligence analysts have concluded that North Korea has begun moving fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor complex, sharply raising the risks that Pyongyang is intent on producing nuclear weapons.

"The president thinks that this can be handled through diplomatic means," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, but "we have contingencies all around the world and we always make certain that our contingencies are viable."

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met for 45 minutes with a special envoy of South Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-Hyun, who rode a wave of anti-American sentiment to victory in elections last month.

"They talked about the future of the alliance and the need to build a strong relationship in the future, including updating and modernizing the alliance," said Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, of the meeting between Rumsfeld and the envoy, Chyng Dai-Chul.

The Pentagon has been quietly looking at revamping its force structure in South Korea where the 37,000 US troops have been a magnet for protest, according to Pentagon officials.

"They also discussed North Korea and the need to continue working closely together toward a peaceful solution," Davis said.

Chyung also is to meet Secretary of State Colin Powell and hoped to see President George W. Bush during the three day visit.

Chyung, who is carrying a letter from Roh call for a peaceaful solution to the standoff, has said he would argue against imposing sanctions against North Korea, which Pyongyand has said it would regard as an act of war.

Washington, on the other hand, has pushed for the issue to be taken up by the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to meet to discuss whether to refer the matter to the Security Council.

Over the past month US intelligence has watched the North Koreans take steps to reactivate its nuclear reactor complex at Yongbyon, officials said last week.

Trucks seen pulling up to a building housing cooling ponds for spent fuel rods have led some analysts to conclude that the North Koreans are moving them either into hiding or to a plutonium reprocessing facility.

US intelligence believes that the North Koreans can produce several nuclear weapons within several months once the Yongbyon facility is back in operation.

Besides troops in South Korea, the United States keeps an aircraft carrier battle group in the region almost continuously. A Marine expeditionary force in Okinawa would be first in line to reinforce US ground forces in the event of conflict on the peninsula.

"We are discussing ways to ensure our existing security commitments are adequately covered while US forces potentially engage elsewhere," said a Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified.

"No decisions have been made, but clearly anything we do is intended to maintain the status quo with regard to our deterrent posture," the official said.

"We want to avoid escalating the diplomatic impasse over the nuclear crisis."

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which is based in Japan, has been ordered to be ready to deploy to the Gulf on short notice. The official said if it is deployed it could be replaced either with land-based aircraft or another aircraft carrier. 

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