North: Korean War Is Back On

North Korea warned today that it no longer considers itself bound by the 1953 truce that brought the Korean War to an effective—but not official—end. The country said South Korea's announcement yesterday that it is joining a US-led initiative to stop ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction amounts to a "declaration of war," the Washington Post reports.

A spokesman for the North Korean military warned that any attempts to inspect the country's shipping under the Proliferation Security Initiative would be met with "a powerful military strike." South Korean media report US satellites have spotted signs that the North has restarted its nuclear plant, which was closed as part of a 2007 disarmament deal. (More North Korea stories.)