[h=3]By ALASTAIR GALE[/h]SEOUL—North Korea cut off a phone hot line to the South and repeated its threat to nullify the Korean War armistice as the South Korean and U.S. militaries began Monday a second phase of their annual joint winter exercises.
European Pressphoto AgencyA South Korean self-propelled howitzer arriving for joint military exercises wit the U.S. Monday
Seoul said the North was conducting its own military drills, but the activity didn't suggest an imminent threat. "There has been no unusual movement spotted in North Korea," a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in late afternoon. "It has been quiet so far."
Following a week of aggressive rhetoric from North Korea, its main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported Monday that the 1953 armistice suspending the Korean War had been "declared invalid."
[h=3]What's News[/h]
What's News: North Korea nullifies the 1953 armistice suspending the Korean War. U.S. companies are keeping more of their profits offshore. Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful" brought in $80 million in its box-office debut.
Also Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye held her first cabinet meeting since being sworn in late last month. The main opposition party in the National Assembly has been holding up confirmation of many of Ms. Park's cabinet choices—including her defense minister nominee, frustrating her efforts to coordinate policy toward the North.
Pyongyang routinely portrays the annual military drills in the South as a prelude to an invasion of the North, and declares that it will retaliate mercilessly for any violation of its territory. But this latest round of threats is higher-pitched, reflecting that Pyongyang is also bristling over sanctions imposed by the United Nations for its Feb. 12 nuclear test.
[h=3]Pyongyang's Nuclear Program[/h]Milestones in North Korean nuclear-weapons development.
North Korea said last week that it would nullify the armistice if the second phase of the military drills in the South went ahead. South Korean and U.S. officials say the armistice can't legally be canceled by any one party to it, but Seoul is concerned that the North is clearing a path for an attack or other provocation.
For the first time, these Key Resolve winter drills are being led by South Korean commanders, part of the process of transferring wartime control of South Korean forces by the end of 2015. The current arrangement gives the U.S. operational control of all forces in the South during combat.
The drills involve 10,000 Korean forces and more than 3,000 U.S. personnel responding to computer-driven conflict scenarios. North Korea was informed on Feb. 21 of the drills, which run through March 21.
"Exercise Key Resolve is a critical exercise in strengthening the readiness of combined Republic of Korea and U.S. forces," said Gen. James D. Thurman, Combined Forces Command commander. The two countries also are running separate Foal Eagle drills in South Korea through April 30.
[h=3]Related Video[/h]
A month after North Korea fired off a nuclear weapons test, China and the U.S. reached a deal on a set of sanctions to be announced at a U.N. Security Council meeting. The WSJ's Alastair Gale explains what this means for North Korea's relations with China.
Separately, South Korea said the North appeared to have cut the inter-Korean phone link at the border village of Panmunjom, through which the two sides communicate on issues along the border. A call from the Southern side around 9 a.m. failed, South Korea's Unification Ministry said. North Korea has cut the line temporarily in the past.
Still, South Korean managers were able to travel to Kaesong Industrial Complex, a shared industrial park inside North Korea where more than 100 South Korean businesses employ North Korean workers. Operations at the complex, which has remained open through previous periods of heightened tensions between the two Koreas, appeared unaffected by this latest strain.
South Korea's new foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, said in his inauguration speech Monday that despite the "very grave" situation on the peninsula he hoped relations would improve with the North.
"My aim is to turn this era of confrontation and mistrust into an era of trust and cooperation with North Korea," Mr. Yun said.
In his inaugural address, Seoul's new unification minister said consideration could be given to humanitarian support for the North but the priority for now is national defense. "It is hard to discuss other matters when the North is making military threats," said Ryoo Kihl-jae.
—Kwanwoo Jun contributed to this article.
European Pressphoto AgencyA South Korean self-propelled howitzer arriving for joint military exercises wit the U.S. Monday
Seoul said the North was conducting its own military drills, but the activity didn't suggest an imminent threat. "There has been no unusual movement spotted in North Korea," a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in late afternoon. "It has been quiet so far."
Following a week of aggressive rhetoric from North Korea, its main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported Monday that the 1953 armistice suspending the Korean War had been "declared invalid."
[h=3]What's News[/h]
What's News: North Korea nullifies the 1953 armistice suspending the Korean War. U.S. companies are keeping more of their profits offshore. Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful" brought in $80 million in its box-office debut.
Also Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye held her first cabinet meeting since being sworn in late last month. The main opposition party in the National Assembly has been holding up confirmation of many of Ms. Park's cabinet choices—including her defense minister nominee, frustrating her efforts to coordinate policy toward the North.
Pyongyang routinely portrays the annual military drills in the South as a prelude to an invasion of the North, and declares that it will retaliate mercilessly for any violation of its territory. But this latest round of threats is higher-pitched, reflecting that Pyongyang is also bristling over sanctions imposed by the United Nations for its Feb. 12 nuclear test.
[h=3]Pyongyang's Nuclear Program[/h]Milestones in North Korean nuclear-weapons development.
North Korea said last week that it would nullify the armistice if the second phase of the military drills in the South went ahead. South Korean and U.S. officials say the armistice can't legally be canceled by any one party to it, but Seoul is concerned that the North is clearing a path for an attack or other provocation.
For the first time, these Key Resolve winter drills are being led by South Korean commanders, part of the process of transferring wartime control of South Korean forces by the end of 2015. The current arrangement gives the U.S. operational control of all forces in the South during combat.
The drills involve 10,000 Korean forces and more than 3,000 U.S. personnel responding to computer-driven conflict scenarios. North Korea was informed on Feb. 21 of the drills, which run through March 21.
"Exercise Key Resolve is a critical exercise in strengthening the readiness of combined Republic of Korea and U.S. forces," said Gen. James D. Thurman, Combined Forces Command commander. The two countries also are running separate Foal Eagle drills in South Korea through April 30.
[h=3]Related Video[/h]
A month after North Korea fired off a nuclear weapons test, China and the U.S. reached a deal on a set of sanctions to be announced at a U.N. Security Council meeting. The WSJ's Alastair Gale explains what this means for North Korea's relations with China.
Separately, South Korea said the North appeared to have cut the inter-Korean phone link at the border village of Panmunjom, through which the two sides communicate on issues along the border. A call from the Southern side around 9 a.m. failed, South Korea's Unification Ministry said. North Korea has cut the line temporarily in the past.
Still, South Korean managers were able to travel to Kaesong Industrial Complex, a shared industrial park inside North Korea where more than 100 South Korean businesses employ North Korean workers. Operations at the complex, which has remained open through previous periods of heightened tensions between the two Koreas, appeared unaffected by this latest strain.
South Korea's new foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, said in his inauguration speech Monday that despite the "very grave" situation on the peninsula he hoped relations would improve with the North.
"My aim is to turn this era of confrontation and mistrust into an era of trust and cooperation with North Korea," Mr. Yun said.
In his inaugural address, Seoul's new unification minister said consideration could be given to humanitarian support for the North but the priority for now is national defense. "It is hard to discuss other matters when the North is making military threats," said Ryoo Kihl-jae.
—Kwanwoo Jun contributed to this article.