South Korea's defense authorities said Monday they are maintaining a heightened state of alert against a possible provocation by North Korea on the eve of the presidential election here.

In recent months, there have been increased military tensions on the peninsula amid a series of the North's ballistic missile launches and speculation that it may conduct another nuclear test or fire a long-range rocket.

"We are maintaining the current level of defense posture," the defense ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a press briefing.

He was responding to a question about whether the ministry plans to raise the alert level in connection with Tuesday's snap elections to pick the successor to Park Geun-hye, who was impeached for a bribery and influence-peddling scandal.

The winner of the race will assume the control of the nation's military simultaneously with being elected, he added.

"In the process, I think there will be consultations with the president-elect side if necessary," he said.

He would not predict the schedule for briefing the new president on defense affairs. (Yonhap)