North Korea threatens to fire nuclear missile at any time as tensions mount
via Chris Kitching
North Koreans are set to celebrate the "Day of the Sun" festival amid concerns that it will coincide with a new nuclear test and rising tensions threaten to spark a "thermo-nuclear war".
Saturday's festival commemorates the 105th birthday anniversary of former supreme leader Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un.
Major holidays are usually celebrated with a test of the secretive state's nuclear or missile capabilities, and a launch this weekend would come at a time when tensions between North Korea and the West are at their highest in years.
Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said in an interview on Friday that North Korea would conduct another nuclear test whenever it sees fit.
On the eve of the festival China - Pyongyang's sole major ally and neighbour - has warned that “conflict could break out at any moment” in the Korean peninsula and called for a peaceful resolution.
Russia has also called for "restraint" and urged both sides to avoid any action which could lead to war.
Military officers visit the birthplace of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung (Photo: REUTERS)
The US is prepared to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea should officials become convinced that Jong-un will follow through with his threat of a nuclear weapons test in defiance of UN sanctions.
It has warned that a policy of "strategic patience" is over.
US Vice President Mike Pence is set to arrive in South Korea on Sunday as part of a long-planned 10-day visit to Asia.
North Korea denounced the US on Friday for bringing "huge nuclear strategic assets" to the peninsula as the USS Carl Vinson strike group headed to the region in a show of force.
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