NORTH KOREA HAS declared it was in a “state of war” with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict.
The United States said it took the announcement “seriously”, but noted it followed a familiar pattern, while South Korea largely dismissed it as an old threat dressed in new clothing.
It was the latest in a string of dire-sounding pronouncements from Pyongyang that have been matched by tough warnings from Seoul and Washington, fuelling international concern that the situation might spiral out of control.
“As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol,” the North said in a government statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
“The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over,” the statement said, adding that any US or South Korean provocation would trigger a “a nuclear war”.
Korean War
SOUTH AFRICA’S FORMER president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment for pneumonia but remains in hospital, current leader Jacob Zuma said today.
In an update on the 94-year-old’s condition, the presidency acknowledged and thanked those who have been praying and sending messages of support to Madiba, referring to the country’s first black president by his tribal name.
Mandela was admitted to hospital on Wednesday due to a recurrence of pneumonia and has now spent three nights being treated for the lung infection. He has been hospitalised several times in recent months with lung-related problems.
