North Korea says US arms buildup as prelude to war

Communist North Korea, suspected by the US of developing nuclear weapons, yesterday denounced a US "arms buildup" in the South as a prelude to war and vowed to retaliate against any pre-emptive attack.

The warning came after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed on Saturday that any development of nuclear arms by North Korea would not be tolerated.

"Our Army and people will answer the US arms buildup with a corresponding powerful deterrent force and its pre-emptive attack with a prompt retaliation to destroy it at the initial stage of war," said North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, which regularly denounces the US and threatens it with destruction.

Washington and Seoul on Thursday unveiled a timetable to remove US forces from the Demilitarised Zone - the stretch of no-man's land dividing the capitalist South from reclusive North, the most heavily fortified border on Earth.

The plan calls for US investment of US$11 billion ($19.23 billion) in new "capabilities" in South Korea, including upgraded missile systems and military intelligence.