North Korea warns it 'will attack South at 9.30am' as Kim Jong-un declares state of war

Crazed dictator Kim Jong-un has warned that North Korea's military will attack the South at 9.30am this morning. He told his troops last night to be 'fully ready for war' following an exchange of fire between the rival nations, declaring a 'quasi-state of war' and claiming that he will attack the South at 5pm Pyongyang time (9.30am UK time).

Tensions have spiked since yesterday, when South Korea fired a barrage of artillery rounds into North Korea after the North shelled across the border to protest against anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts.

Washington urged Pyongyang to halt any "provocative" actions in the wake of the first exchange of fire between the two Korea's since last October.

Both sides said there were no casualties or damage in their territory.

North Korea did not return fire but warned Seoul in a letter that it would take military action if the South did not stop the broadcasts along the border within 48 hours, the South's Defence Ministry said.

In a separate letter, Pyongyang said it was willing to resolve the issue even though it considered the broadcasts a declaration of war, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

A South Korean military official said the broadcasts would continue.

Seoul began blasting anti-North Korean propaganda from loudspeakers on the border on August 10, resuming a tactic that both sides had stopped in 2004.

South Korea said the North had fired one anti-aircraft shell followed by multiple shells on Thursday.

Its military, which said it fired "tens" of artillery rounds in response, raised its alert status to the highest level.

President Park Geun-hye told defence officials to "react firmly" to North Korean provocations, a spokesman quoted her as saying.

"Our military has stepped up monitoring and is closely watching North Korean military movements," South Korea's Defence Ministry said.

The North Korean army said the South fired 36 rounds, six of which landed near its guard posts, in a "reckless provocation," KCNA said.

The United States, which has about 28,500 military personnel in South Korea, said it was concerned and closely monitoring the situation.