North Korea rachets up tension with the South

(Vatican Radio) North Korea says it has cut off another hotline with the South, in another ratcheting-up of tension on the Korean Peninsula. The North also repeated a warning that it's braced for war.

Pyongyang said it had severed a military hotline, days after pulling the plug on two similar cross-border hotlines: one to the U.N. mission, the other run by the Red Cross.

There's still one official phone line to South Korea in operation, linking aviation authorities.

In a statement, North Korea also repeated a warning that war may break out at any time.
On Tuesday it said its long-range rockets were ready to strike at United States military bases in Hawaii and elsewhere.

Analysts say it's unclear how much is bluster aimed at pressuring Washington into offering talks and concessions.

But earlier this week, South Korea's president said the North can only ensure its survival when it stops spending money on nuclear weapons and starts buying food for its citizens.

That remark riled Pyongyang, which struck back on Wednesday, saying President Park Geun-hye had gone "too far.

For Vatican Radio, Alastair Wanklyn in Tokyo

Listen to the Full report: