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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says US policy towards the Korean peninsula is making war inevitable. Kim was speaking at an end-of-year Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang. He said deployment of US military assets in the region, had turned South Korea into an American military base. Kim also announced he'll no longer pursue reconciliation and reunification with South Korea -- blaming defence ties between Seoul and Washington.

Inbum Chun, a former South Korean Special Forces Commander says tensions are high between Pyongyang and Seoul and both sides need to exercise caution.