North Korea warns of 'nuclear disasters'

SEOUL, South Korea -- Any U.S. moves to build up its military force on the Korean Peninsula could lead to "horrible nuclear disasters," the communist state warned Friday.

The North Korean statement, the latest in a series of warnings, came a day after the White House said it had "robust plans for any contingencies," including military action.

The United States has 37,000 troops in South Korea, and has maintained a force there since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, leaving the North and South technically still at war.

"If the U.S. moves to bolster aggression troops are unchecked, the whole land of Korea will be reduced to ashes and the Koreans will not escape horrible nuclear disasters," North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, said.

In Washington, President Bush on Friday said "all options are on the table" to solve the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

But he repeated that the situation can still be resolved peacefully but notably ratcheted up the U.S. position by raising the suggestion of the use of a military strike.

Nuclear dispute

The nuclear dispute with North Korea began in October when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted having a nuclear program in violation of a 1994 agreement.

Washington and its allies suspended oil shipments to North Korea -- which in turn expelled U.N. nuclear inspectors and pulled out of a global nuclear arms control treaty.

On Wednesday, North Korea said it was putting the operation of its nuclear facilities on a "normal footing," triggering fears it was about to produce weapons materials.

North Korea said in December it planned to reactivate its nuclear facilities to generate badly needed electricity. U.S. officials say the amount of electricity that can be generated by the North's facilities is negligible.

In Vienna, Austria, the International Atomic Energy Agency had no comment on the North's claims and said it would not respond before next Wednesday's emergency session of the IAEA board of governors.

The 35-nation board is expected to refer the dispute to the Security Council, which could lead to economic sanctions or other punitive measures against the North.

North Korea's statement Friday was issued by the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a government agency in charge of relations with South Korea.

In line with the North's strategy to drive a wedge between the United States and its ally South Korea, the statement urged the South Koreans to frustrate alleged U.S. plans for a military buildup.

"The grave situation where there is the real danger of a new war created by the U.S. imperialists on the Korean Peninsula goes to more clearly prove that there exists on the peninsula only confrontation between the Korean nation and the United States," it said.

North Korean soldiers are holding rallies at their bases, vowing to wage "a life-and-death battle" against the U.S. "imperialists," KCNA said Friday.

The report repeated Pyongyang's position that the nuclear issue can be resolved only through direct negotiations with the United States. It rejected a multilateral approach to the dispute.

The North froze its nuclear facilities in a 1994 energy deal with the United States, but the agreement unraveled when U.S. officials said in October that North Korea had admitted embarking on a second, clandestine nuclear program.