North Korea To Scrap Military Safeguard Pact With South

A South Korean patrol boat dropping a depth charge during a drill off the western coastal town of Taean on May 27.

South Korean warships held a large-scale military exercise today, a week after Seoul accused North Korea of shooting a torpedo that sank a navy frigate in March.

The military conducted the exercise despite warnings from the North that the exercise would bring the peninsula to the brink of war.

In reaction, North Korea declared that it would scrap a 2004 accord with the South designed to prevent armed clashes at their maritime border and warned of "immediate physical strikes" if any South Korean ships enter its waters.

A multinational team of investigators concluded last week that a North Korean torpedo sunk the "Cheonan," killing 46 sailors.

Seoul announced a series of punitive measures, including slashing trade and resuming anti-Pyongyang propaganda over radio and loudspeakers aimed at the North.

compiled from agency reports