The 80-year-old North Korean war vet says he 's been holding onto a bullet he did n't get to fire when his country declared a truce with its neighbor 60 years ago . Now -- if North Korean state media is to be believed -- the man is itching to do so . `` I am still keeping a bullet that I failed to fire at a trench in the 1950s because the U.S. imperialists and their stooges signed an armistice agreement , '' the man is quoted as saying in Rodong Sinmun , the official newspaper of the ruling Workers ' Party . `` Send me to the trench . Give me a rifle . I want to rain bullets on the enemy to my heart 's content . '' Like him , the newspaper said , North Koreans across the country are begging to join the army after the United Nations slapped the country with new sanctions . It 's the latest hyperbole coming out of the repressed country after the North reneged Monday on a 60-year-old armistice that had maintained an uneasy peace with South Korea since the Korean War in the 1950s . `` All people who can take rifle are petitioning to be allowed to join or rejoin the People 's Army in all provinces and towns , '' the newspaper said . For its part , South Korea said it 's keeping a close watch and making sure its combined forces with the United States are prepared for moves by the North . `` There are possibilities that these activities could lead to provocations , '' defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-suk said . If they do , he added , `` We will respond in a more resolute and destructively manner . '' The ever-ratcheting war of words between the two sides reached new heights after Pyongyang scrapped the agreement and then followed it up by ignoring Seoul 's calls to a military hotline the two sides set up in 2004 to ease tensions . Opinion : Will China finally 'bite ' North Korea ? 'An act of war ' North Korea said its decision was a direct response to the U.N. Security Council , which passed tougher sanctions against the country after it carried out a nuclear test last month . The sanctions , North Korea 's ruling Workers ' Party said , are `` a declaration of war and an act of war . '' The United States followed the U.N. 's sanctions with its own Monday after North Korea scrapped the armistice agreement . The new U.S. sanctions target North Korea 's Foreign Trade Bank for its role in supporting the country 's weapons of mass destruction program , the Treasury Department said Monday . The sanctions effectively cut the North 's primary foreign exchange bank off from the U.S. financial system . Rodman : ' I 'm going on vacation with Kim in August ' 'Break the waists of ... enemies ' Pyongyang is also furious at joint military drills taking place between the South and the United States . The annual training exercises are scheduled to last two months . Leader Kim Jong Un lambasted the drills , taking place near the Korean peninsula . `` As the saying goes ... a guy who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish in flames '' Kim told soldiers , according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency . `` All the enemies quite often playing with fire in the sensitive hotspot should be thrown into a cauldron once I issue an order . '' `` Once an order is issued , '' Kim told the troops , `` you should break the waists of the crazy enemies , totally cut their windpipes and thus clearly show them what a real war is like . '' In Washington , White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Pyongyang 's `` bellicose rhetoric '' has raised concerns -- but wo n't help the North 's situation . `` The DPRK will achieve nothing by threats or provocations , which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in northeast Asia , '' he said . What 's in a threat ? A look at North Korea 's escalating rhetoric and actions .
North Korean veteran : ` ` I want to waste bullets on the enemy to my heart 's content '' S. Korea : If he strikes , ` ` we will act in a more resolute ... manner '' The United States slaps fresh sanctions on North Korea . Global tensions heightened after the parties agreed on a 60-year - old armistice .