North Korea has threatened “all-out war” against the United States in response to the U.S.’ recent threat of a “preventive war.”
 
According to the North state-run Korean Central News Agency, the General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement on Wednesday that the U.S. is devising a preventive war against the North and that any plans to execute this would be met with an all-out war wiping out all the strongholds of enemies including the U.S. mainland.
 
The North said that it would immediately launch a preemptive retaliatory operation if it detects any signs of attempts by the U.S. to implement a decapitation plan to demolish the North Korean leadership.
 
It threatened a nuclear strike against the U.S. mainland if it sees any signs of a preventive war, warning that it would turn the entire area of South Korea including Seoul into a sea of fire and launch full-fledged strikes against U.S. military bases in the Pacific.
 
The statement follows remarks made by President Trump’s top security adviser Herbert McMaster that the U.S. is preparing for a "preventive war" with North Korea among many options to deal with its missile and nuclear threats.