Tension is brewing on the Korean peninsula. North Korea declared it would cut all ties with South Korea in response to its blaming of the communist country for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, as tensions on the divided peninsula spiked to their highest level in a decade.
The dramatic deterioration in ties came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Seoul on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on how to deal with North Korea.
The North's announcement late Tuesday came hours after South Korea began taking steps that were seen as among the strongest it could implement short of military action – ranging from slashing trade, resuming propaganda warfare and barring the North's cargo ships.
Tensions have risen since last week, when a team of international investigators concluded that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan warship off the west coast on March 26, killing 46 South Korean sailors.
The North flatly denies involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, one of the South's worst military disasters since the Korean War, and has warned that retaliation would mean war.
North Korea is cutting all ties with the South until President Lee Myung-bak leaves office in early 2013, the country's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification, which handles relations with South Korea, said in a statement.
It also said North Korea would expel all South Korean government officials working at a joint industrial park in the northern border town of Kaesong, and South Korean ships and airliners would be banned from passing through its territory.
North Korea would start "all-out counterattacks" against the South's psychological warfare operations. Pyongyang called its moves "the first phase" of punitive measures against Seoul, suggesting more action could follow.
South Korea's military said Wednesday there were no signs of unusual activity by North Korean troops. At least two cross-border communication links were operating normally on Wednesday morning, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.
Recommended reading:
* Kim Kyong-Hui moving up North Korea power ladder
* North Korea Hunger For War
* The Koreans Are In 2010 World Cup Finals