A senior North Korean official accused the US of planning a pre-emptive strike to neutralize the nuclear facilities after reports emerged of a large deployment of stealth fighters by the US in South Korea ostensibly for "training" purposes. While making this accusation, Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said that Pyongyang had demanded half a million tons of fuel along with a host of new benefits as a price for starting the process of disarmament and dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.
The US is also reportedly deploying aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Kitty Hawk in the region.
