11 March 2013/28 Raby’ ath-Thani 1434/21 Esfand 1391/30 Yi-Mao 4711

Chinese media reporting that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has cut the hot line from Pyongyang to Seoul.  They cite Republic of Korean (ROK) officials as saying the emergency phone line is no longer working.

Last week the DPRK said they would cut the phone line and consider the 1953 armistice void, if the United States and ROK went ahead with the Key Resolve war games, which officially started on 11 March 2013.

In several official announcements the DPRK basically said the latest UN sanctions, and the continued uninvited presence of the U.S. military in ROK, were the final straws, and threaten nuclear first strikes.