Pyongyang: North Korea has said that it is entering a state of war with South Korea in its latest escalation of rhetoric against its southern neighbor and the US.
In a joint statement by the government, political parties and organizations, North Korea said on Saturday that it will deal with all matters involving South Korea according to “wartime regulations.†It also warned it will retaliate against any provocations by the United States and South Korea without “any prior notice.â€
North Korea has  threatened attacks almost daily after it was sanctioned for a third nuclear test last month. It has also reacted angrily to annual US-South Korean military exercises.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry released a statement saying the latest threat wasn’t new and was just a follow-up to Mr. Kim’s earlier order to put troops on a high alert in response to annual U.S-South Korean military drills. Pyongyang sees those drills as rehearsals for an invasion; the allies call them routine and defensive.
North and South Korea have technically been at war since the armed conflict between them ended in 1953, because an armistice was never turned into a peace treaty.
The North carried out its third nuclear test on 12 February, which led to the imposition of fresh sanctions. Many analysts believe that all-out war with South Korea and its ally the United States would be suicidal for Pyongyang.
The White House has said, it took a new warning from North Korea that it was in a state of war with South Korea seriously. Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council said, US remains in close contact with its South Korean allies.