At disarmament conference, Pyongyang official warns that war could be near on Korean peninsula

NKorean official says war possible at ‘any moment’

GENEVA — A senior Pyongyang official has warned that the Korean peninsula could see “all-out war” as tensions mount from North Korea’s believed sinking of a South Korean warship.

North Korea’s deputy ambassador in Geneva, Ri Jang Gon, accuses Washington and Seoul of causing the crisis, and says military action or sanctions would prompt defense from the isolated communist nation with “tough measures including all-out war.”

He said Wednesday at the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament: “The present situation of the Korean peninsula is so grave that a war may break out any moment.”

South Korea’s delegate, Im Han-taek, says its neighbor committed a “grave violation of the armistice” and it is saddened by Ri’s “propaganda” statement.

U.S. Ambassador Laura Kennedy rejected Ri’s allegations.