Manila — North Korea has appealed to southeast Asian countries for support in its row with the US to prevent what it warned could be a "nuclear holocaust", according to a letter obtained by AFP. In the letter to the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was "reaching the brink of war" because of US actions. He urged the Asean chief to inform the 10-nation organisation’s foreign ministers "about the grave situation" on the peninsula "and give them a proper proposal", while criticising at length US-South Korean military exercises. Tensions have soared in recent weeks in the wake of a series of North Korean missile tests and tough rhetoric from Washington on the isolated nation’s rogue weapons programme. A copy of the North’s letter, dated March 23, was obtained by AFP on Thursday ahead of an Asean leaders’ summit in Manila, where they are expected to discuss th...
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