The AP reports today that North Korea says attempts by the outside world to penalize the country with sanctions for its nuclear testing would be considered an act of war:

"If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures," said a statement from North's Foreign Ministry through the official Korean Central News Agency.

Meanwhile, W. calls for stiff sanctions on North Korea. South Korea has already ceased its humanitarian aid shipments to its ugly twin, and Japan just imposed new economic sanctions.

According to the AP, approximately 29,500 U.S. soldiers are already deployed in South Korea, a remnant of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a cease-fire, not a formal peace treaty.