American Secretary of State John Kerry is vowing that the US will defend itself and South Korea.  Kerry made his stern comments at a joint appearance with his South Korean Counterpart.

Kerry was responding to North Korea saying it was going to restart the controversial Yongbyon nuclear facility, which could bolster its nuclear weapons program.  Kerry calls the act “provocative”.  The US is urging China and Russia to use their influence to convince Pyongyang to reverse that decision.  Both have urged for calm.

Kerry also deemed “unacceptable” the belligerent, bellicose rhetoric spewing out of Pyongyang following the adoption of international sanctions on the North, the punishment for its nuclear weapons test earlier this year.

The Pentagon has sent two missile destroyers to the region to quickly deal with any military threat from North Korea.

South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Yun Byung-se said, “The six-party-talks is still very useful tool to implement, to actually make efforts towards denuclearization of the North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Even though this is a very difficult task, we believe, with China and many members of the six-party-talks, we should continue these efforts with patience."

Earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said the Korean crisis had “gone too far” and called for the immediate resumption of six-party talks.