North Korea warned on Sunday that it would "mercilessly retaliate" if a firing drill at sea this week by the South Korean military violates the North's territorial waters, as dpa reported. The warning, which accused the South of deliberate provocation, came in a statement carried by the North's official media. It charged that the drill would imperil the overall situation on the Korean peninsula. Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, said Seoul had informed Pyongyang the "routine" exercise would take place Monday near five islands at the sea border.
