US SECRETARY of State Rex Tillerson threatened pre-emptive attacks on North Korea yesterday if its nuclear weapons programme goes too far.

Speaking in the South Korean capital Seoul on the second leg of a three-nation tour of the Far East, Mr Tillerson said: “All of the options are on the table.”

He claimed the US did not want war, “but, obviously, if North Korea takes actions that threaten South Korean forces or our own forces, that would be met with (an) appropriate response.