North Korea behind hacking attack in March, claims Seoul

North Korea was behind the cyber attack in March that wiped hard drives on more than 30,000 PCs in TV stations and disrupted banks in south Korea, a spokesman for its internet security agency said on Wednesday, ratcheting up the tension between the two sides another notch.

The agency said six computers in the north accessed computer servers in the south using more than a thousand access points on the internet, called IP addresses, based overseas. Those were then used to set up the attack.A spokesman told the Associated Press that the attack, planned up to eight months earlier, had similarities to past North Korean hacking attempts, which he said were carried out by an espionage agency run by the military there.

That will raise concerns that even a minor conflict between the two nations could be presaged by a cyber attack aimed at critical infrastructure in the south, which is one of the most networked nations in the world – in stark contrast to the north, which is one of the least networked.

North Korea has been using increasingly aggressive language in public statements: on Tuesday it warned foreigners to leave South Korea for "safe places", implying a nuclear war was imminent. The two nations have never signed a peace treaty; the three-year-long Korean war ended in a ceasefire, but not a peace treaty. They have thus remained at war despite the peace that has reigned since July 1953.

The online realm has become the most active frontier in what is so far a phoney war between the two nations. North Korea's Twitter feed was hacked last week, apparently by hackers from the Anonymous collective.

I have looked at all the scenarios. It seems to me like these poor guys( North Korea) just want to bother the rich guys(South Korea, US, Japan) andvto what end?

North Korea moves missile with 'considerable range' to coast

South Korea's defence minister has confirmed that Pyongyang has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, but said there were no signs that North Korea was preparing for a full-scale conflict despite the continuing standoff.

The confirmation from Kim Kwan-jin came hours after North Korea's military announced it had been authorised to attack the US using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons.

Kim told a parliamentary committee meeting that although the missile had considerable range, it was not sufficient to hit the US mainland.

His description could suggest a missile known as the Musudan, which has a range of 3,000km (1,800 miles). That would make Japan and South Korea potential targets along with US bases in both countries.

Kim said that if North Korea were preparing for a full-scale conflict, there would be more signs of the mobilisation of troops and supplies.So far, he said, South Korean military officials had found no evidence of such preparations."[North Korea's recent threats] are rhetorical threats," he said. "I believe the odds of a full-scale provocation are small.

I am hoping this is all "notice me" tactics by North Korea

North Korea threat: US missile battery deployment to Guam

The Pentagon ordered an advanced missile defence system to the western Pacific on Wednesday, as the US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, declared that North Korea posed "a real and clear danger" to South Korea, Japan and America itself.

The deployment of the battery to the US territory of Guam is the biggest demonstration yet that Washington regards the confrontation with North Korea as more worrying than similar crises over the past few years. It also suggests the Americans are preparing for a long standoff.

North Korea ramped up its rhetoric on Wednesday, warning that it had authorised plans for nuclear strikes on targets in the US. The North Korean military said that the "moment of explosion is approaching fast" and that war could break out "today or tomorrow".

The Pentagon announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence System (THAAD) before the latest statement from Pyonyang. It is intended to provide protection for US military bases in the region against short- and medium-range North Korean missiles. North Korea has, over the past few weeks, warned that it could strike Guam, Hawaii and the US west coast.The $800m (£529m) battery was not due for deployment until 2015, but will now be in place in weeks.

There had been debate within the US defence department about deploying it first to the Middle East to protect Israel, but the threat from North Korea is now viewed as more serious.

I just do not know what to think anymore. North Korea is taking this far. I agree they do have a valid reason but we do not need a needless bloodshed.