US is pushing the whole world towards 'nuclear war' North Korea tells UN

North Korea has warned that the US is pushing the whole world towards a "nuclear war" in its latest letter submitted to the UN. Citing the impending joint military exercises and the US' assertions in the Korean peninsula region, Pyongyang said Washington's actions are bound to derail the improving relationships between the two Koreas.

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho wrote a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asking the international body to stop the US from deploying military equipment and conducting joint drills in the Korean peninsula.

The Trump administration's aims are "to provoke a nuclear war, which will undermine the improvement of inter-Korean relations and the easing of tensions," said Ri. The top North Korean authority asked the UN chief not to remain a mute spectator against what he called "the US dangerous game of aggravating (the) situation in and around the Korean peninsula and driving the whole world into a possible disaster of nuclear war."

Tensions in Korean peninsula sharply escalated in 2017 with the North defiantly indulging in missile launches and pursuing its nuclear programme. But, this situation has cooled down in recent weeks as the rival Koreas agreed on the participation of North Korean athletes in the February Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Ri had accused the US of "intentionally" destabilising the situation in the region by drafting in more assets including aircraft carrier-led strike groups threatening a "pre-emptive strike" on North Korea.

"This is a primary factor which would block the inter-Korean reconciliation process and drive the situation of the Korean peninsula into an unpredictable dangerous phase," added Ri asking the top UN body of Security Council to take up the matter.

Recently, South Korea has made it clear it is marching ahead with its joint military exercises with the US despite the ongoing sports diplomacy with the rogue North Korean regime. The US and South Korea, key allies facing an increasing threat from North Korea, usually conduct Key Resolve and Foal Eagle at the start of Spring season in the country. But, the two countries have said they are delaying the exercises due to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics in February this year.