North Korea declares state of war with South

North Korea declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea Saturday in a statement that said the long-standing truce was at an end. It was the latest in a series of threats from Pyongyang since a third nuclear test on Feb. 12 led to the imposition of new international sanctions, the BBC reported. "From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and South will be handled accordingly," the statement said. "The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over." The two Koreas have been in a technical truce since the end of the Korean War. No peace treaty was ever signed. The South Korean defense ministry denounced the threats, adding in a statement: "Our military is maintaining full preparedness to leave no blind point in safeguarding the lives and safety of the people," Yonhap News Agency reported.