North Korea warns of ‘first nuclear war’

North Korea has warned of an increased risk of nuclear conflict following the accidental bombing of a South Korean village near the border with the North.

Tensions between the two neighboring nations have reached their highest levels in years, as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to expand its nuclear arsenal.

Pyongyang has also accused Seoul of maintaining excessively close ties with the United States, pointing to the annual joint military exercises conducted by the two allies.

Last week, a South Korean fighter jet mistakenly dropped a bomb in the wrong location during a military drill, causing an explosion that injured 31 people and damaged around 150 homes.

The South Korean military attributed the incident to a miscalculation in the coordinates provided for the exercise.

"There is no need to explain how the situation would have developed if a bomb had been dropped toward the north a little further to cross the border of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a statement.

"It is not unreasonable to imagine that an accidental spark might plunge the Korean peninsula and the region and the rest of the world into a new armed conflict."

(QG - Source: Newsweek / Picture: © Unsplash)