North Korea Abandons 1953 Armistice Agreement

Bloomberg reports that "North Korea threatened a military response to South Korean participation in a U.S.-led program to seize weapons of mass destruction, and said it will no longer abide by the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War. 'The Korean People’s Army will not be bound to the Armistice Agreement any longer,' the official Korean Central News Agency said in a statement today. Any attempt to inspect North Korean vessels will be countered with 'prompt and strong military strikes.' South Korea’s military said it will 'deal sternly with any provocation' from the North."

Reuters reports that "Russia is taking security measures as a precaution against the possibility tension over North Korea could escalate into nuclear war, news agencies quoted officials as saying on Wednesday. Interfax quoted an unnamed security source as saying a stand-off triggered by Pyongyang's nuclear test on Monday could affect the security of Russia's far eastern regions, which border North Korea. 'The need has emerged for an appropriate package of precautionary measures,' the source said." Tweet