The White House has dismissed North Korea's latest threats as "saber
rattling" and "bluster" aimed at getting attention from the
international community.
North Korea said it will take military action against South Korea if it
participates in a U.S.-led effort to intercept ships suspected of
carrying weapons of mass destruction. The North Korean military also
said Pyongyang will no longer be bound by the armistice that ended the
Korean War.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said this is the fifth time in the
last 15 years that Pyongyang has threatened to nullify the 1953
armistice that ended the three-year war.
Gibbs said threats will not get North Korea what it wants, and
suggested that Pyongyang instead focus on fulfilling its international
obligations.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday there will be
consequences of what she called North Korea's "provocative and
belligerent" behavior. Clinton said the United Nations Security Council
is working on a resolution to add to the consequences of North Korea's
actions.
But she said the intention will be to convince North Korea to return to denuclearization talks.
Also Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it summoned North
Korea's ambassador to express concern about the test and call on
Pyongyang to return to six-nation denuclearization talks.
Members of the U.N. Security Council met Tuesday with Japanese and
South Korean officials to discuss a response to Monday's nuclear test.
No meeting was set for Wednesday, and a resolution is not expected
until next week.
The U.S. State Department would not confirm South Korean media reports
about additional North Korean missile tests on Wednesday, as well as
reported moves to restart the country's nuclear processing facility at
Yongbyon.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported that North Korea fired
five short-range missiles off its eastern coast on Monday and Tuesday,
and has warned ships to stay away from waters off its western coast
through Wednesday.
South Korea's "Chosun Ilbo" newspaper said it has learned from an
anonymous government official that U.S. spy satellites have detected
steam coming from a reprocessing plant on the complex.
Pyongyang began dismantling the Yongbyon facility in 2007 as part of a
deal reached through the six-nation disarmament talks. But it vowed to
restart the facility last month after the U.N. Security Council
condemned the North's test-firing of a long-range missile.