North Korea in 'state of war' with South

Pyongyang threatens to shut down border industrial complex as region remains tense amid military build-up. North Korea has announced that it has entered a "state of war" with South Korea and would deal with every inter-Korean issue accordingly. "As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a joint statement attributed to all government bodies and institutions. "The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over." The statement was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The North threatened on Saturday to shut down a joint industrial complex with South Korea, state news agency KCNA reported, in the latest warning from Pyongyang at a time of escalated tensions between the two sides. The threat from the state body in charge of the complex just north of the Korean border followed an announcement by the North on Wednesday that it was cutting its last military hotline with the South. But an official from the South said the joint industrial complex, which lies inside North Korea, was operating normally on Sunday despite the North's threat. Technically at war The two Koreas have always technically remained at war because the 1950-53 Korean War concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. South Korea's Unification Ministry quickly released a statement calling the latest threat not new and saying it is a follow-up to Kim's earlier order to put troops on a high alert in response to annual US-South Korean defence drills. Spotlight coverage of tension in Northeast Asia North Korea sees those drills as rehearsals for an invasion. On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned his forces were ready "to settle accounts with the US" after two American B-2 bombers flew a training mission in South Korea. The White House said it took a new warning from North Korea that it was in a state of war with South Korea seriously, but said Pyongyang's threats were following a familiar pattern. "We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Resumption of hostilities The North had announced earlier this month that it was tearing up the armistice and other bilateral peace pacts signed with the South in protest against South Korea-US joint military exercises. Voiding the ceasefire theoretically opened the way to a resumption of hostilities, although observers noted it was far from the first time that North Korea had announced the demise of the armistice. The armistice was approved by the UN General Assembly, and both the UN and South Korea have repudiated the North's unilateral withdrawal. Saturday's statement also warned that any military provocation near the North-South land or sea border would result "in a full-scale conflict and a nuclear war".

Karzai meets emir of Qatar for peace talks

Afghan president and Qatari emir discussed opening of office for Taliban in Doha which could help broker an end to war. Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has met with the emir of Qatar to discuss plans for the Taliban to open an office in the Gulf state. He discussed "issues of mutual interest" with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the state news agency QNA said, without elaborating on the substanec of their talks. The meeting was also attended by the Qatari prime minister, Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani. Karzai arrived in Doha on Saturday and also met with Afghan and Arab officials and businessmen. The delegation traveling with the Afghan president includes Zalmai Rassoul, the foreign minister; Salahuddin Rabbani, the head of the High Peace Council; and Rangin Dadfar Spanta, a presidential advisor. Until earlier this year, Karzai was strongly opposed to the Taliban having a meeting venue outside Afghanistan, but the US wanted the Taliban on the talking table as it prepared to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in the next two years. "If we want to have talks to bring peace to Afghanistan, the main side must be the Afghan government's representatives - the High Peace Council, which has members from all the country's ethnic and political backgrounds," Faizi said. Kabul has repeatedly stressed that it would only start talks if the fighters broke all links with al-Qaeda and gave up violence. Faizi said any Taliban office in Qatar must be held to strict conditions. "If Karzai visits, it is not our concern. Our representatives who are already in Qatar won't see or talk to him. " - Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban "It can only be an address where the armed opposition sit and talk to the Afghanistan government," he said. "This office can not be used for any other purposes." 'Not our concern' The UN this week welcomed Karzai's Qatar visit, and issued another call for the Taliban to come to the peace table. "You are Afghans, you care, I assume, about your country, you care about [a] peaceful stable future of the country," Jan Kubis, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, said. But the Qatar office could mean little if the Taliban refuse to negotiate with Karzai or the government-appointed High Peace Council. The Taliban have refused to have direct contact with Karzai, saying he was a puppet of the United States, which has supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the fighters in 2001. "The opening of the Taliban office in Qatar is not related to Karzai, it is a matter between the Taliban and the Qatar government," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. "If Karzai visits, it is not our concern. Our representatives who are already in Qatar won't see or talk to him." In Afghanistan, an air strike by a NATO helicopter has killed one child and several suspected Taliban fighters in the southeast. The aircraft came to support Afghan troops who were attacked near the town of Ghazni. At least 13 people were wounded.