North Korea warns nuclear war could break out 'at any moment'

North Korea has warned that a nuclear war could break out at "any moment" as the tensions in the Korean peninsula continuously soared in recent weeks. The reclusive nation's deputy UN ambassador told the global body's disarmament committee that the US has pushed the region to the brink of a nuclear war.

Pyongyang, known for its harsh rhetoric against its adversaries, has constantly threatened a full-fledged war could occur due to the actions of Washington in the region. Its threats are usually dialled up when there are joint military exercises by the US and South Korea.

"The entire US mainland is within our firing range and if the US dares to invade our sacred territory even an inch it will not escape our severe punishment in any part of the globe," cautioned Kim In-ryong adding that the atmosphere in the Korean peninsula "has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment".

Citing the recent arrival of US' strategic military assets such as nuclear-powered submarines, sophisticated fighter jets and the massive aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Korean peninsula, Kim also said the US plans a "secret operation aimed at the removal of our supreme leadership".

The hermit kingdom has completed its "state nuclear force and thus became the full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges, including the atomic bomb, H-bomb and intercontinental ballistic rockets," added the North Korean representative in his speech.

Curiously, the North Korean diplomat did not deliver one of the portions of his prepared remarks. In the omitted section of the speech, obtained by Reuters news agency, there was a threat to nations which rally behind the US pertaining to North Korea matters.

"As long as one does not take part in the US military actions against the DPRK [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea – North Korea's official name], we have no intention to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any other country," the North Korean delegate should have said according to his prepared speech.

The North has previously threatened countries like Australia to stop supporting the US in its actions in the region.