South Korea said Thursday it was preparing for a “worst-case scenario” in North Korea’s nuclear standoff with the United States, and a top U.S. envoy warned a resolution of the confrontation would be a slow process.
The chief UN atomic weapons watchdog, meanwhile, attacked the isolated communist country for engaging in “nuclear blackmail.”
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jun told a parliamentary hearing that there was a high possibility North Korea would target South Korea if it builds a nuclear bomb. U.S. officials believe the communist regime already has one or two nuclear bombs.
“I believe a war on the Korean Peninsula would be inevitable if the North’s nuclear issue could not be resolved peacefully and the United States attacks North Korea,” Lee said.
