South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday instructed the military to strongly respond to possible provocations by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) without any political considerations.

"If any provocation is made against our people and the country,(the military) should strongly respond(to the provocation) in an early stage without any other political considerations," Yonhap News Agency quoted Park as saying at the annual policy plan briefing by the defense ministry.

Park said she"sees the recent DPRK's threat very seriously," mentioning the nullification of non-aggression pact, the cut-off of the military communications line and the repeated war threats.

On Saturday, Pyongyang warned that if South Korea continues to insult its northern neighbor's dignity, it will shut down their joint industrial park located in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong. South Korea's unification ministry in charge of dialogue and communication with the DPRK said Monday that the industrial zone is normally operating.

The announcement came just hours after the DPRK said it had entered"a state of war" against South Korea, which once again escalated tensions on the Koran Peninsula after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12.

President Park stressed that she will trust the judgment of the military that is directly facing the possibly abrupt raid by the DPRK, instructing the military to secure safety of workers at the joint industrial park. 

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack US military bases in the Republic of Korea and the Pacific region, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean Peninsula in a rare show of force. (Full story)

The DPRK said Saturday that it had entered a"state of war" with South Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported. All matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime condition, the DPRK said in a statement. (Full story)

The DPRK threatened to shut down a joint industrial park with South Korea if the latter continued to insult the DPRK's dignity, the official KCNA news agency reported.  (Full story)

Kim Jong Un said Sunday the country had adopted a new strategy of carrying out economic construction and building nuclear armed forces simultaneously. The DPRK would develop a"self-reliant nuclear power industry" and"light water reactor" to ease the strain on the country's electricity supply, the official KCNA news agency quoted Kim as saying at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.  (Full story)

For years, the DPRK and the United States, deeply suspicious of each other's intentions, have seen their relations plummet to new lows. Despite the rhetoric, many believe war is still a distant reality on the Korean Peninsula. However, the latest tit-for-tat strategies employed by Pyongyang and Washington have definitely raised tensions in a volatile region at China's doorsteps. (Full story)