North Korea says Trump has pushed peninsula to ‘brink of nuclear war’ and brands US a ‘blackmailing gangster’ in chilling new warning
The hermit state's warning comes as tensions between the two nuclear powers continue to escalate
NORTH Korea has warned it is "on the brink of nuclear war" with the US after Donald Trump ordered the deployment of new American weaponry to the region.
It also labelled the US a "blackmailing gangster" which was holding it at "knifepoint" by imposing economic sanctions and supporting its enemies.
Its warning comes as tensions between the two atomic powers continue to escalate and tyrant Kim Jong-Un vows to continue with his nuclear missile tests.
It has recently been claimed his tests could trigger a deadly volcanic eruption, and that the mad dictator has an army comprising 500,000 women soldiers ready to send to the frontline.
Commentary published in the state-run news agency KCNA today claimed the US was to blame for the growing tensions.
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It stated: "It is just the US which has pushed the situation on the peninsula to the brink of nuclear war by staging the largest-ever aggressive joint military drills against the DPRK for the past two months after bringing all sorts of nuclear strategic assets to South Korea.
"No one in the world welcomes a gangster blackmailing the owner with a dagger.
"It is an entirely legitimate right to self-defence for the DPRK to further increase its war deterrent to cope with the prevailing grave situation on the peninsula.
"The present reality clearly proves that the DPRK was so right when it made a crucial decision to strengthen its nuclear force in quality and quantity.
"The nuclear force of the DPRK is a treasure sword of justice and reliable war deterrent to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country and global peace from the nuclear war threat posed by the US."
It comes on the same day President Trump said a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, while China said the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.
Trump, speaking to Reuters on Thursday, said he wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully, possibly through the use of new economic sanctions, although a military option was not off the table.
"There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea," Trump said in an interview at the Oval Office.
"We'd love to solve things diplomatically but it's very difficult," he said, describing North Korea as his biggest global challenge.
And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there was a danger that the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control, his ministry said.
Wang made the comments in a meeting at the United Nations with a Russian diplomat on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.
China, the only major ally of North Korea, has been increasingly uncomfortable in recent months about its neighbour's pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles in violation on U.N. resolutions.
As it's claimed the US is edging closer to a second Korean War, haunting pictures have revealed the brutal reality of the war nearly 70 years ago.
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