'Attack would cause nuclear disaster' warns North Korea
North Korea today warned that if the United States attacked the country the conflict would turn into a nuclear war and cause “nuclear disasters” in Asia and the entire world.
The North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper accused America’s Central Intelligence Agency of preparing a surprise attack on the communist country’s nuclear facilities.
“If the US imperialists ignite a war on the Korean Peninsula, the war will turn into a nuclear war. As a consequence, the Koreans in the north and south and the people in Asia and the rest of the world will suffer horrifying nuclear disasters,” Rodong said.
The report, carried by the North’s state-run KCNA news agency, also claimed that Washington had put its forces around the Korean Peninsula on “semi-war footing” and ”is pushing ahead with nuclear war preparations in full swing.”
Rodong, monitored by South Korea’s national Yonhap news agency, reiterated that North Korea’s nuclear activities were “strictly for peaceful purposes and poses no threat to anyone.”
“Crushing US plot to attack North Korea is a very important issue related to peace and safety of Asia and the world, the existence and future of mankind,” Rodong said.
Pyongyang accuses Washington of inciting the nuclear crisis as a pretext for an invasion.
Washington has repeatedly said it has no plans to attack North Korea, but has stressed that “all options are on the table”.
Pyongyang last week test-fired a missile into the sea off its east coast. It also reactivated a 5-megawatt reactor that could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, U.S. and South Korean officials said.
The dispute flared in October when Washington said North Korea had admitted pursuing a nuclear weapons programme. North Korea denies making such an admission.
Washington and its allies halted oil shipments to the North, which retaliated by expelling UN monitors, taking steps to reactivate its frozen nuclear facilities and withdrawing from the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
