North Korea accused Washington of preparing to attack it, citing the US military's plans to relinquish control of a key outpost along the tense border between the two Koreas this year.
It also warned yesterday that it would review parts of the armistice that ended the Korean War five decades ago, because of the US plans.
The US has said it will hand over to South Korea duties along the heavily fortified area, called the Demilitarized Zone. South Korea has a 600,000-member force facing off North Korea's armed forces, the world's fifth largest with 1.1 million soldiers.
Yesterday the North's military said such plans show that Washington is preparing to attack it, and accused the US of violating the armistice.
"The US decision to take even its small force out of ... Panmunjom ... indicates that the US preparations for a pre-emptive attack upon the DPRK are under way at a final phase," said the Korean People's Army spokesman for its mission in the truce village of Panmunjom, according to KCNA, the North's official news agency.
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The North's army "will comprehensively examine" sections in the armistice that deal with security and communications in Panmunjom, the spokesman said.
He said the North would "go into prompt action when necessary to take measures for protecting the security and interests in this area." He did not elaborate.
The two Koreas are separated by the 4km-wide, 241km-long DMZ, a Cold War vestige strewn with mines and laced with barbed wire and tank traps.
US troops guarding the inter-Korean border are often regarded as a "tripwire" because they are presumed to take casualties during a North Korean attack, thereby prompting US intervention.
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