The Korean peninsula was braced for war tonight amid fears that the North could fire nuclear missiles in a row over cross-border propaganda broadcasts.
The crisis erupted as South Korea refused to silence giant loudspeakers – in defiance of a warning by the North.
The two countries have already put troops on war footing and fired conventional missiles into border areas as tension escalates between the rivals.
A source close to the Kim Jong-un regime said today it could “go nuclear” if Seoul did not back down.
Kim Myong-chol, of The Centre for North Korea-US Peace and a regime mouthpiece, said: “If the loudspeakers are still in place at 5pm on Saturday [8pm in UK] the North will attack with artillery, from the air and with land forces.
“It depends on the situation and the reactions of South Korea and the US, but it could be a nuclear war.”
South Korean Vice-Defence Minister Baek Seung-joo said Kim Jong Un’s troops would probably fire at the 11 loudspeakers on the South’s side.
South Korea began blasting out propaganda on August 10, after landmines wounded two of its solders in a 'no-man's land' area on the border.
Tensions grew on Thursday when North Korea fired four shells into the South, which returned fire with 29.