North Korea Scraps Peace Pacts with South

North Korea confirmed in February that it had "successfully" carried out an underground nuclear test, drawing immediate condemnation from rival South Korea. Image by EPA/BGNES

North Korea has declared that it is ending all non-aggression pacts with South Korea.

A North Korean announcement carried on the KCNA state news agency said the North was also closing the main Panmunjom border crossing inside the Demilitarized Zone. It also notified the South that it was "immediately" cutting off the North-South hotline, saying there was "nothing to talk to the puppet group of traitors about".

The announcement follows a new round of UN sanctions punishing Pyongyang for its nuclear test last month, the BBC has reminded.

North Korea warned Thursday it could launch a preemptive nuclear strike against potential aggressors as the UN Security Council prepared to impose a new set of sanctions on the country.

North Korea conducted a third nuclear test in defiance of UN resolutions and appeals from its neighbors on February 12.

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