The move comes after the North threatened to scrap¹ the 60-year truce²（停战） which ended the Korean War.

 

Later on Thursday, the UN Security Council will vote on a resolution imposing³ tighter sanctions on Pyongyang following its recent nuclear test.

 

Meanwhile, Australia has put on hold plans to reopen a North Korea embassy in its capital, Canberra.

 

Patrick Low, a spokesman for the Australian foreign ministry⁴, said there was still "some merit" in having a North Korean embassy in Australia, including enabling more direct communication on human rights issues.

 

But said the plans had been frozen "until further notice" while Australia worked with the UN Security Council on its response to North Korea's nuclear test.

 

North Korea first opened an embassy in Australia in 2002, but closed it in 2008 for financial reasons.

 

The nuclear test, North Korea's third, followed its apparently⁵ successful launch in December of a three-stage rocket - a move condemned⁶ by the UN as a banned test of missile technology. 

 

Pyongyang claims its nuclear test involved a smaller and more powerful device - prompting concerns it could be moving closer to creating a warhead small enough to arm a missile.

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