North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a “state of war” with South Korea, but Seoul and its ally the United States played down the statement as tough talk.

Pyongyang also threatened to close a border industrial zone, the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation which gives the impoverished North access to $2 billion in trade a year.

The United States said it took Pyongyang’s threats seriously but cautioned that the North had a history of bellicose rhetoric. Russia, another a permanent U.N. Security Council member, urged all sides to show restraint.

Source: Reuters – North Korea says enters “state of war” against South