N Korea vows Preemptive Nuclear Strike against American Cities

North Korea has vowed to launch a 'preemptive' nuclear strike against the US to defend itself in the event that Washington ignites a nuclear war. "Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to preemptive nuclear attack against the headquarters of the aggressor in order to protect our supreme interest," said a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman in a statement on Thursday. The statement was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The spokesman also warned that a second Korean war would be "unavoidable," if Washington and Seoul refuse Pyongyang's calls to cancel their large-scale joint military drills scheduled to kick off next week. On March 1, South Korea and the US will start their annual military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve, which will continue until the end of April. It will involve 10,000 South Korean and 3,500 US forces.