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.

As promised, I created a new Yahoo photo album with pictures of Ally's visit, Katrine and Kailyn acting like gangstas, and my Party Bus night with Moos, Bryn and Jeff. Paolo had a little too much fun this weekend and is now recovering. Check out the pictures here.

I received a text from Jeremy this evening, which read, "North Korea just successfully tested a nuclear bomb. The game just changed."

Indeed it did. Just hours ago, the world learned that North Korea, an Axis of Evil delegate, performed its first nuclear weapons test equivalent to 550 tons of TNT. The U.S. dropped the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT on Hiroshima, for context. According to the AP, the communist country hailed the event as a "great step forward" for its people.

"We expect the U.N. Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "The United States is closely monitoring the situation and reaffirms its commitment to protect and defend our allies in the region." (Read: We're backing up Japan and South Korea.)

Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, calls the test "unpardonable," and South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young said, "Our government will sternly react under the principle that it cannot tolerate the North's possession of nuclear weapons."

South and North Korea, which fought the 1950-53 Korean War, are divided by the world's most heavily armed border. Gramps even took a turn at border patrol, I believe. North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 after U.S. officials accused it of a secret nuclear program, according to the AP. North Korea has since dismissed U.N. sanctions requesting disarmament. North Korea is the eighth country in the world confirmed to have atomic weapons, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, France, China, Britain, India, and Pakistan. Yikes.

I added some new Flickr photos. Be sure to check 'em out. I'll be adding some "party pics" to my Yahoo albums after Moos and I go out on the Party Bus tonight!

What congressmen should not do six weeks before elections: get caught having online sex with minors.

ABC News revealed last week that ex-Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., sent lewd e-mails to underage male congressional assistants. Since the story broke, Foley quit his office the House, entered a rehab program, admitted he is gay and claims he was sexually abused by a clergyman as a teenager. That's a hell of a week.

Yesterday, The Washington Post obtained dozens of America Online instant messages from December 2002 to October 2003. Many included sexual references, like this one:

Foley to Page: "I wish i would have jumped you after dinner in san diego, but I was good."

According to the Washington Post article, in one particular instance, "Foley and the teenager engaged in graphic Internet sex, with the boy apparently masturbating as time was running out on a vote the lawmaker had to cast on the House floor."

Today, ABC News revealed that three more pages, classes of 1998, 2000 and 2002, now accuse Foley of online sexual approaches -- creating a greater timeline of pedophiliac behavior by the disgraced congressman.

What has ended Foley's political career (at the very least) should ignite the Democrat's mission to win some House seats and exploit corruption in the GOP. Certainly, the source of the ABC story timed exposing Foley to maximize political impact.

Foley's name remains on the ballot in Florida's 16th Congressional District, which means Democrats now only need 13 seats to capture the House. As George Will, says in his editorial, "If, after the Foley episode -- a maraschino cherry atop the Democrats' delectable sundae of Republican miseries -- the Democrats cannot gain 13 seats, they should go into another line of work."