North Korea warns Australia it is in nuclear weapon range - DAILY NEWS

North Korea warns Australia it is in nuclear
weapon range North Korea threatens nuclear war with Australia
saying the country is 'within range' of Kim Jong-un's missile arsenal and warning Malcolm
Turnbull not to cosy up to Trump's U.S. North Korea has threatened Australia with
nuclear war in a blunt message reminding Malcolm Turnbull that the nation is in range of a
catastrophic strike. The rogue state warned Australia against cosying
up to the US as Vice President Mike Pence visits - saying that following US moves in
the region would be a 'suicidal act'. North Korea's state news agency (KCNA) on
Saturday warned Australia not to 'blindly and zealously toe' the US line, while also
castigating Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

An agency spokesman said Ms Bishop has 'spouted
a string of rubbish' against North Korea, which puts Australia at risk of a nuclear
strike. 'If Australia persists in following the US
moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and remains a shock brigade of the US master, this will
be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force
of the DPRK,' the report said. 'The Australian Foreign Minister had better
think twice about the consequences to be entailed by her reckless tongue-lashing before flattering
the US. 'It is hard to expect good words from the
foreign minister of such a government.

But if she is the foreign minister of a country,
she should speak with elementary common sense about the essence of the situation.' Earlier this week Ms Bishop said on the ABC's
AM program that North Korea's nuclear weapons program posed a 'serious threat' to Australia,
unless it was stopped by the international community. The KCNA report said that what Ms Bishop had
said 'can never be pardoned' as it was 'an act against peace' and North Korea's 'entirely
just steps for self defence'. It said Australia was shielding a hostile
US policy of nuclear threats and blackmail against North Korea, which was the root cause
of the current crisis on on the Korean Peninsula. The report also said Australia encouraged
the US to opt for 'reckless and risky military actions'.

'The present government of Australia is blindly
and zealously toeing the US line.' The report said the situation on the Korean
Peninsula was 'inching close to the brink of war in an evil cycle of increasing tensions'. US Vice-President Mike Pence is in Australia,
where his visit has been dominated by discussion on the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons
and missiles programs. Mr Pence said North Korea is an 'urgent and
most dangerous' threat to peace and security in the Asia Pacific region. 'While all options are on the table, let me
assure you the United States will continue to work closely with Australia, our other
allies in the region and China to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on the regime,'
he said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday.

Mr Pence said warming ties between the US
and China means a peaceful outcome on the Korean peninsula is still possible. 'We truly believe that, as our allies in the
region and China bring that pressure to bear, there is a chance that we can achieve a historic
objective of a nuclear-free Korea peninsula by peaceful means,' he said. The US Vice President praised Mr Turnbull
who also called on China to add more pressure to their eastern neighbour, as tensions soar
following missile tests. 'We are quietly confident, I would say, that
China will step up to this challenge and responsibility,' he said.

'China has a leverage, an ability to influence
North Korea that far exceeds any others.' North Korea's latest missile test fizzled
last weekend, but it conducted two nuclear test explosions and 24 ballistic missile tests
last year. Fears are rising that Pyongyang may be preparing
a sixth nuclear test to commemorate the 85th anniversary of its military's founding on
Tuesday. 'It is self-evident that China has the opportunity
and responsibility to stop this reckless and dangerous trajectory,' Mr Turnbull said..