North Korea says it will stage nuclear test

Oy. October’s just full of surprises this year.

North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program.

The United States warned a North Korean nuclear test "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability." South Korea raised its security level, and Japan promised a severe response if the threat was carried out.

Hear that? It’s the sound of a saber being rattled.