The South Korean military has downgraded its defense posture to its usual level while the North is also said to have lifted its special alert order for its forward units.
 
A military official said Sunday that the highest alert order for forward units and the "Jindo Dog Level One" order, which refers to the highest level of readiness for localized skirmishes, have been lifted to peace time levels after they were implemented following the North's land mine incident and artillery fire.
 
The official added that North Korea has also lifted its special alert set between last Monday and Friday in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise between South Korea and the United States.
 
The North is also said to have returned military forces that had been deployed to forward areas to their original locations and hasn't shown unusual movements at its frontlines.