The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday abandoned a truce that ended the Korean War and threatened to attack those who had provoked the country, in response to Seoul's decision to join a US-led international security initiative.

Pyongyang was also restarting a plant capable of making plutonium for nuclear bombs, two days after it tested an atomic bomb for the second time since 2006, Republic of Korea (ROK) media reported.

The moves added to mounting tension in the region this week, during which the DPRK also test-fired at least five short-range missiles.