The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will regard the present situation as the phase of war with S Korea, the KCNA reported Friday, quoting the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.

Pyongwang also warned that it will strongly react with such punishment as "the total freeze of the inter-Korean relations, the complete abrogation of the north-south agreement on non-aggression and a total halt to the inter-Korean cooperation undertakings."