[00:00.48]North Korean leader Kim Jong Un placed his military on high alert
[00:05.68]and declared a "quasi-state of war"
[00:09.00]in areas near the country's border with South Korea Friday.
[00:14.30]The action took place after North and South Korea
[00:18.96]exchanged artillery fire near the border.
[00:24.20]The Korean Central News Agency reported that Mr. Kim said
[00:28.76]frontline groups would "enter a wartime state"
[00:32.68]starting at 5:00 p.m. local time Friday.
[00:37.92]North Korea has made similar declarations in 2010 and 2013.
[00:45.28]The two Koreas are technically at war.
[00:48.48]The truce that ended the Korean War
[00:51.52]in the 1950s did not become a peace treaty.
[00:57.20]Tensions increased Thursday when North Korea fired artillery
[01:02.36]at South Korean military positions along the western border.
[01:08.24]The South responded by launching artillery rounds at the North.
[01:14.44]The artillery shells appeared to have fallen into the demilitarized zone,
[01:20.00]or DMZ, separating the two Koreas.
[01:24.88]Neither side reported damage or injuries.
[01:28.76]North Korea's ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong
[01:34.12]spoke to reporters late Friday in Beijing.
[01:38.36]He said "If the enemy ignores our warning
[01:41.64]it is inevitable that there will be action.
[01:44.68]Our army does not use empty words."
[01:48.36]North-South relations became strained after South Korea
[01:52.64]accused the North of planting landmines that exploded this month near the border.
[02:00.00]Two South Korean soldiers were wounded.
[02:03.60]South Korea answered by restarting anti-North Korean broadcasts on loudspeakers near the border.
[02:12.76]The North warned Thursday that it would take further military action
[02:17.92]if South Korea did not stop the broadcasts within 48 hours.
[02:24.28]South Korean officials have said the broadcasts would continue.
[02:29.44]And it has raised its military readiness alert to its highest level
[02:34.60]to indicate immediate danger, imminent attack or invasion.
[02:40.41]Korea expert Daniel Pinkston is with the International Crisis Group in Seoul.
[02:47.36]He says neither side feels it can back down but neither side wants war either.
[02:54.96]"I think that both sides want to avoid a high intensity conflict
[03:01.64]but nevertheless there's a possibility of miscalculation and inadvertent escalation."
[03:11.56]The United States Thursday said it was watching the situation closely.
[03:17.40]State Department spokesman John Kirby said
[03:20.88]that "provocative actions" by the North only heighten tensions.
[03:26.80]He urged North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric
[03:31.64]that threaten peace and security in the area.
[03:35.84]The latest tension also comes during annual joint military exercises that began Monday.
[03:44.36]North Korea condemns them as preparation for war.
[03:49.20]The exercises include South Korea, the U.S. and other allies including Britain, Canada and Australia.
[03:59.20]Daniel Pinkston says having the multinational military presence on the Korean Peninsula
[04:06.72]might keep North Korea from acting
[04:09.52]but may also restrain South Korea.
[04:13.46]I'm Mario Ritter.