North Korea Threatens Military Strikes on South

North Korea threatened Wednesday to launch military strikes against
South Korea if any of its ships were stopped or searched as part of an
American-led operation to intercept vessels suspected of carrying
weapons of mass destruction.
South Korea agreed to join the global interdiction program after North
Korea tested a nuclear device on Monday — its second nuclear test in
three years. The North had earlier warned the South not to participate
in the effort, known as the Proliferation Security Intiative.
“We consider this a declaration of war against us,” an unidentified
North Korean military spokesman said Wednesday in a statement carried by
the North’s official news agency, KCNA. “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.” Technically, the two Koreas
have remained at war for more than 50 years, because the 1953 armistice
never gave way to a final peace treaty. The United Nations Security
Council is in the process of crafting a response, which may include
additional economic sanctions; the North has said it would consider such
sanctions a declaration of war.
The proliferation security initiative was begun in 2003 by the Bush
administration, and South Korea had wavered on joining it for fear of
provoking the North. Russia, Britain, France and Israel are among the 95
signers of the initiative, which India, Pakistan and China have not
signed. I believe the U.S. and the rest of the world will collectively
work together for the interests of the global security which is being
threaten by North Korea’s reckless behavior.