North Korea Threatens South, Armistice Off

May 27, 2009 — -- North Korea threatened to attack South Korea one day after Seoul announced that it would join a U.S.-led naval exercise, aimed at intercepting any shipments suspected of carrying materials used in the making of weapons of mass destruction.

North Korean media reported that Pyongyang is feeling "compelled to take a decisive measure" and will mete out "unimaginable and merciless punishment" to any country that will blockade its ships. It warned the international community that it would not hesitate to use its "tremendous military muscle" against any threats.

The government also proclaimed that the North would no longer honor the North-South armistice signed at the end of the Korean War.

Also today, South Korean media reported that Pyongyang has restarted a plant that makes plutonium, a material which can be used in the making of nuclear bombs. That report has not been confirmed.

The South Korean decision to join the patrols marked the end of a long debate in Seoul. North Korea has said in the past that such a decision would amount to a "declaration of war."

Today, the North Korean official news agency KCNA reported, an unnamed military official in Pyongyang said, "Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty and we will immediately respond with a powerful military strike."

Today's threats follow a series of short-range missile launches by the North as well as an underground nuclear test.

The flurry of North Korean activity is testing the international community as the U.N. Security Council continues to debate the best way to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

North Korea's actions "are a very provocative and destabilizing series of actions," and "they pose a clear threat to international peace and security," Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

And Rice said that North Korea's attempt to provoke the world is failing.

"The message we are sending back is that the international community will not be intimidated and the pressure on North Korea will only increase if they continue on this course," she told "GMA."

Noting that Russia, China, South Korea and Japan have all condemned North Korea's actions, President Obama, who has pledged to more aggressively pursue diplomatic solutions for global challenges, said on Monday that the country is "inviting stronger international pressure." As a result, he added, we will "redouble our efforts toward a more robust international non-proliferation regime that all countries have responsibilities to meet."