North Korea: attack would trigger full scale Korean war

North Korea today warned that a US pre-emptive attack on the North’s nuclear facilities would trigger a “full-scale war” on the volatile Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

The warning came after US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld labelled the North's government a "terrorist regime.''

“If the United States launches a surprise attack on our peaceful nuclear facilities, it will spark a full-scale war,” said Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main state-run newspaper, in a commentary carried by Radio Pyongyang.

Radio Pyongyang, a state-run North Korean broadcaster, was monitored by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Rodong accused the US of planning to send reinforcements to the region and launch pre-emptive attacks on North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, which North Korea says it is reactivating to generate electricity. The US has denied it is planning an attack on North Korea.

In Washington, Mr Rumsfeld said restarting the nuclear programme would give the North a troubling option – making nuclear weapons for itself or selling them to any other country.

“That is something the world has to take very seriously,” he said late yesterday.