Kim Jong-un has warned North Korea's military to be 'fully ready for war' as tensions rise following an exchange of artillery fire with South Korea, it has been reported.
The dictator declared a "quasi-state of war" following an emergency meeting of military leaders, according to KCNA news agency.
He warned that he would put troops on a "fully armed state of war" starting from 5pm on Friday.
It came as South Korea fired a barrage of artillery rounds into North Korea on Thursday after the North shelled across the border to protest against anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts by Seoul.
Washington urged Pyongyang to halt any "provocative" actions in the wake of the first exchange of fire between the two Koreas since last October.
Both sides said there were no casualties or damage in their territory.
North Korea did not return fire but warned Seoul in a letter that it would take military action if the South did not stop the broadcasts along the border within 48 hours, the South's Defence Ministry said.
In a separate letter, Pyongyang said it was willing to resolve the issue even though it considered the broadcasts a declaration of war, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.
A South Korean military official said the broadcasts would continue.
Seoul began blasting anti-North Korean propaganda from loudspeakers on the border on August 10, resuming a tactic that both sides had stopped in 2004
Source: The Mirror
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