Warns Of 'Nuclear Holocaust', North Korea Calls For ASEAN Against US

News Portals: Friday April, 28, 2017 - 07:43 pm North Korean young dictator Kim Jong-un. North Korea calls on ASEAN to warn of a "nuclear holocaust" if it does not oppose US maneuvers on the Korean Peninsula. Photo / REUTERS

WWIII - North Korea warned Southeast Asian or ASEAN nations about a "nuclear holocaust" if it does not oppose US and South Korean military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea invites ASEAN to join in efforts to oppose US military maneuvers in Korean waters.

The warning from Pyongyang was delivered by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho to the ASEAN leaders ahead of the summit in Manila this week. In his letter, Foreign Minister Ri stressed that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was on the brink of war because of Washington's actions.

He urged the ASEAN leaders to inform the 10 foreign ministers of its member countries about the situation of Korean waters which he calls will be like graves. Ri urged ASEAN to dare to strongly criticize US and South Korean military exercises.

"I express my hope that ASEAN which is very concerned with regional peace and stability will create a joint US- South Korean military training issue at the ASEAN conference from a fair and active role in protecting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," Ri said in a letter dated 23 April, as reported by Daily Telegraph, Friday (28/4/2017).

The ASEAN summit in Manila also plans to discuss the growing North Korean nuclear crisis in recent days. The North's letter to ASEAN against the US military maneuvers came as the commander of US Pacific Command Rear Admiral Harry Harris warned that Kim Jong-un would succeed in installing a nuclear warhead on his ballistic missile.

"Just as Thomas Edison is believed to fail 1,000 times before finding a light bulb, Kim Jong-un will continue to try. In a few days, he will succeed, "Harris said. Speaking to a panel of US Congress, he described the devastating consequences of an all-out nuclear war if it broke out on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea's missile attacks have the potential to kill millions of Koreans in Seoul as well as the 24,000 US troops currently deployed in South Korea. "I will say what we are facing is that on the one hand and more and more Koreans, Japanese and Americans are dying if North Korea achieves its nuclear goal and does what Kim Jong-un says it will do," he said.