North Korea is canceling a hotline and a nonaggression pact with South Korea and reiterating past threats in anger over a U.N. Security Council vote to impose more sanctions on the North for its third nuclear test.
North Korea vowed on Thursday to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric as U.N. diplomats voted on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.
South Korea says it suspects a nuclear test caused an earthquake Tuesday in North Korea just north of a site where the country conducted two previous atomic tests. North Korea has yet to confirm whether the tremor resulted from a widely anticipated third nuclear test.
North Koreans have been celebrating in the streets today, after the launch of the country's first satellite in space. But elsewhere around the world, leaders are reacting with concern.
The White House was quick to condemn North Korea's successful launch of a long-range rocket, calling it a "highly provocative act" that threatens regional security.