Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy South Korea if attacked, state media reported Friday, after South Korea’s president warned that if the North used nuclear weapons it would “face the end of its regime.” The fiery rhetoric isn’t new, but comes at a time of tension on the Korean Peninsula and just weeks after North Korean state media released images of Kim visiting a uranium enrichment facility, which produces weapons-grade nuclear materials. While touring an army base in the western part of the country Wednesday, Kim said if the South were to encroach upon the North’s sovereignty, Pyongyang “would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Friday. “If such situation comes, the permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would be impossible,” Kim added, using the proper name for South Korea. Hostilities between the two Korean leaders have been simmering this year as North Korea has appeared to have intensified its nuclear production efforts and strengthened ties with Russia, deepening widespread concern in the West over the isolated nation’s direction. Kim’s comments appeared to come in direct response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who on Tuesday showcased Seoul’s most powerful ballistic missile and other weapons designed to deter North Korean threats during a parade for Armed Forces Day. North and South Korea have been cut off from each other since the end of the Korean War in 1953, which concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the two sides still technically at war. Visitors watch South Korea’s Hyunmoo-5 missile during a ceremony to mark the 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on October 1. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) While both governments had long sought the goal of one day peacefully reunifying, earlier this year Kim announced the North would no longer pursue that aim, calling the South the “principal enemy” and demolishing a monument symbolizing unification. North Korea could revoke a key agreement which enshrines the potential for the reunification of the Koreas as soon as Monday when its legislature is expected to meet, Seoul’s Unification Ministry told CNN. Last month, North Korean state media released photos of Kim purportedly touring a nuclear facility in a rare glimpse of the nation’s closely guarded weapons program. Experts said the images – which show Kim flanked by men in military uniforms and crisp white lab shirts – underscore North Korea’s growing confidence in its position as a nuclear power. South Korea has also been building up its arsenal to respond to a potential threat from the North. On Tuesday, Yoon unveiled the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, which is reportedly capable of penetrating North Korean underground bunkers. “If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the SK-US alliance,” Yoon said, in reference to the United States as the country’s key military partner. “The North Korean regime must now break free from the delusion that nuclear weapons will protect them.” The US flew a B-1B bomber over an Armed Forces Day ceremony on Tuesday in Seongnam, near Seoul, in an apparent show of solidarity. On Wednesday, Kim called Yoon a “puppet” and said he was an “abnormal man” for bragging about his military might at the doorstep of a nation in possession of nuclear weapons, KCNA reported.

West Indies lost their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup going down to South Africa this morning at Dubai’s International Cricket Stadium. Sent in to bat Windies Women were restricted to 118 for 6. Stafani Tailor top scored with 44 not out. South Africa replied with 119 without loss from 17.5 overs to win by 10 wickets. Laura Wolvaardt topscored with 59 while Tazmin Brits was on 57. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia / Gallo Images)

Bangkok (CNN) — Flash floods swept through a popular elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of about 100 elephants and trapping dozens of tourists, amid urgent pleas for help. Dramatic video and images from the Elephant Nature Park near the city of Chiang Mai showed dozens of elephants wading through belly-deep water to find safety on higher ground. “It was the biggest evacuation we have ever done to save their lives, the water rose rapidly,” Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, founder of Elephant Nature Park, told CNN, calling the floods the most severe the park has ever experienced. Video showed park staff who work with elephants, known as mahouts, shouting, “Go go, keep going” as they urged the huge pachyderms out of their pens and through the high floodwaters. While many of the animals found shelter on a nearby mountain overnight Thursday, come morning, Saengduean said the danger was far from over. “There are some animals we could not evacuate yesterday. Thirteen adult elephants are still trapped in their quarters. They are panicking,” said Saengduean.’ Northern Thailand has suffered severe flooding and landslides in recent weeks due to torrential rains brought by Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, which left dozens dead as it swept across the region in mid-September. Rescue workers evacuated animals to higher ground at Elephant Nature Park after severe flooding caused the nearby river to overflow in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo: Elephant Nature Park) Authorities in Chaing Mai, a popular tourist destination in Thailand, have issued alerts for potential flooding as water levels along the Ping River, which runs through the city, reach dangerous levels. With extensive flooding around the park and waters still rising, the sanctuary’s founder said they are facing the unwelcome prospect of having to evacuate the animals a second time. “The situation is a lot worse than yesterday,” she said, adding that she has requested urgent help from Thai authorities. A priority is getting hold of boats so the mahouts can stay with the remaining elephants at the park to keep them calm, she said. “We urgently need volunteers and animal cages as we must move the animals to the mountains due to the roads being completely cut off in both directions,” the park said in a post on Facebook. About 30 foreign volunteers are also trapped at the sanctuary, including five Americans, some of whom have been working at the park for several weeks, Saengduean said. The Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre in the Chiang Mai countryside that has rescued more than 200 elephants from the tourism and logging industries since its inception in the 1990s. It also runs tours and volunteering programs that allow visitors to observe the animals or help with conservation work. Many of the elephants are blind or have physical injuries, which have hindered their ability to escape and complicated evacuation efforts. “Among the evacuated animals, there are many sick elephants, some barely walk. We had to help them to get to the foot of the mountain. We are in desperate need for help,” Saengduean said. As well as elephants, the park is home to about 5,000 rescued animals including dogs, cats, horses, pigs and rabbits – some of which were evacuated in recent days after authorities issued a flood warning. The head of Thailand’s Department of National Parks said that dozens of officers have been dispatched but have been unable to reach the park due to flooded roads, according to the state-run National Broadcasting Television. Atthapol Charoenchansa said they urgently need flat-bottomed boats and volunteers to help evacuate the remaining animals. Several villages in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district have been inundated by water from upstream runoffs, local media reported Thursday. Elephants, Thailand’s national animal, have seen their wild population decline in recent decades due to threats from tourism, logging, poaching and human encroachment on elephant habitats. Experts estimate the wild elephant population in Thailand has dwindled to 3,000-4,000, a decline from more than 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.