North Korea warns of possible armed conflict with South Korea

North Korea is warning that tensions with South Korea may trigger war on the divided peninsula.

The North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper says Seoul’s hard-line stance toward Pyongyang “may lead to an uncontrollable an unavoidable military conflict and a war” between the Koreas.

The commentary was carried on Sunday by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency. It comes two days after the regime declared it is abandoning a non-aggression pact designed to prevent hostilities between the wartime rivals.

Relations between the two Koreas have been strained since conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office nearly a year ago vowing to take a harder line on the communist North.