A high-ranking North Korean military official has threatened to launch a nuclear strike against the United States, accusing Washington of increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea, which has made similar threats before, is thought to be a long way from developing a ballistic missile with the range to carry out such an attack.
Vice Marshall Hwang Pyong So said Sunday that the North would launch nuclear rockets at the White House and U.S. military bases around the Pacific if Washington attempted to undermine North Korea's sovereignty and right to have nuclear weapons and deploy a nuclear aircraft carrier.
Hwang was speaking at a rally in Pyongyang marking the 61st anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
Experts say North Korea does not have a ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. The North has tested short and long-range missiles capable of reaching South Korea and Japan.
