N. Korea threatens to pull out of nuke deal

Washington says North Korea is engaged in developing long-range missiles

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has threatened to pull out of a crucial deal with the United States following reports that Washington is reviewing its nuclear strategy.

Last week, American newspapers carried reports of a Pentagon review that named seven countries, including North Korea and China, on a list of potential U.S. nuclear targets.

North Korea issued a statement on Thursday saying that if these reports were accurate, it may need to review all its deals with Washington.

Pyongyang was already smarting over earlier comments from U.S. President George W. Bush which labeled the communist state as part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran that was intent on acquiring or making weapons of mass destruction.

The details of the nuclear review sent relations between Washington and Pyongyang plummeting to a fresh low, and prompted strong words from the Asian nation.

LAUNCH CONDITIONS The Pentagon report lists three conditions in which the use of nuclear weapons might be considered, including:  • Use against targets capable of withstanding non-nuclear attacks   • Retaliation for attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons   • And a third, catch-all category: "in the event of surprising military developments."     MORE STORIES • Bush won't rule out nuclear option  • China's 'shock' at inclusion on hit list    U.S. MISSILE SHIELD Q&A: What is missile defense?  • Animation    NUCLEAR WEAPONS • CNN Cold War: Who has what?  • Resources: Nuclear history     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

North Korea warned the United States it would be "grossly mistaken" if it chose to attack the communist state with nuclear weapons and it would take "countermeasures" against the review.

"A nuclear war to be imposed by the U.S. nuclear fanatics upon the DPRK would mean their ruin in nuclear disaster," a statement carried on the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday said, using the official title for North Korea.

'Reckless persons'

Following the latest diplomatic swipe, North Korea hinted at withdrawing from a deal that it signed with the United States in 1994, which froze Pyongyang's suspected atomic weapons program and averted near-conflict in the 1990s.

On Thursday, the North Korean foreign ministry said that the U.S. nuclear review was "a daydream of reckless persons" and gave a better indication of its course of action.

"Under the present situation where nuclear lunatics have taken office in the White House, we are compelled to examine all the agreements with the U.S.," the Associated Press news agency reported, quoting a statement issued by KCNA.

A suspected North Korean nuclear weapons program brought the two countries to the brink of conflict in 1994.

War was averted after a diplomatic deal was brokered in which the North agreed to freeze its nuclear program -- never admitting how far it had progressed -- in exchange for oil supplies and Western aid in the construction of new peacetime nuclear reactors.

"In the case of the DPRK in particular, the U.S. gave specific assurances in the 1993 DPRK-U.S. joint statement and the 1994 DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework that 'it would not use nuclear weapons against the DPRK and threaten the DPRK with them'," the ministry statement said.

"Based on these assurances, the DPRK has sincerely fulfilled over the last eight years its commitments under the agreed framework aimed at the improved DPRK-U.S. relations, its keynote being the U.S. provision of light-water reactors to the DPRK in return for the freeze of its nuclear facilities," it said.

Brinkmanship

The border between North and South Korea: One of the last Cold War hotspots

The statements fall in line with a long history of North Korean brinkmanship and follows ambiguity over whether or not the Pyongyang does indeed possess nuclear weapons.

For their part, officials in the Bush administration have sought to play down the review saying that the United States reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event it or its allies are attacked.(Full story)

The U.S. president has refused to rule out using nuclear weapons to defend his country and says America is prepared to act against countries it suspects possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking at his first full White House media conference in five months, Bush confirmed a review of the nation's nuclear capability is ongoing and said the United States had all its "options on the table." (Full story)

Bush also warned that he may take action against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but did not mention North Korea.