http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/27/north-korea-threat-attack-southSeoul's participation in US-led ship searches 'equal to declaration of war'
* Justin McCurry in Tokyo
* guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 May 2009 10.08 BST
The North Korea nuclear crisis deepened today after the regime reportedly restarted its main nuclear reactor and threatened to attack South Korea if it joined US-led inspections of vessels suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.
In its most belligerent broadside yet in the standoff, North Korea warned that it would view as a declaration of war any participation by Seoul in the naval exercise, known as the Proliferation Security Initiative.
The state-controlled Korean Central News Agency quoted a North Korean army spokesman as saying: "Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty and we will immediately respond with a powerful military strike."