Risk of US-North Korea war 'very high,' Russian FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday cautioned that the risks of escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea were "very high" following the recent war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

"I believe the risks are very high, especially considering this rhetoric, when direct threats of using force are voiced," Lavrov said at a youth forum in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

Lavrov did not refer to Trump's most recent remark that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" in the event of a misstep by North Korea, but said Moscow is "very alarmed" at Washington's rhetoric of preemptive military action.

He added that Washington, as a more powerful state than North Korea, should take the first step to cool tensions.

"When a fight has nearly broken out, the first step away from the dangerous threshold should be taken by the side that is stronger and smarter," Lavrov said.

Moscow has partnered up with China to push an initiative that would see Pyongyang halt missile tests in return for the U.S. ending military drills in the region.

Pyongyang said this week it was readying a scheme to attack Guam, an island outpost of the U.S. military in western Pacific.

"We're doing everything we can so that this 'what if' doesn't happen," Lavrov said when asked about the prospects of a conflict.

Lavrov also criticized the U.S. leadership for having doubts about an international deal to rein in Iran's nuclear programme.

"Unfortunately our American partners are having doubts, although the Trump administration has confirmed that, in part, concerning the signed agreements, Iran is fulfilling all actions that were envisaged," Lavrov said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency.

Trump said on Thursday said he did not believe that Iran was living up to the spirit of the deal.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump issued another warning to North Korea on Friday with a reference to American weapons as being "locked and loaded."

"Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!" Trump wrote on Twitter, a day after his defense secretary said the United States was ready to counter any threat from Pyongyang.

The escalating war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un's nuclear-armed regime shows no signs of stopping.

President Donald Trump on Thursday hardened his warning that North Korea would face "fire and fury" if it kept threatening the U.S., saying maybe that tough talk "wasn't tough enough".

Trump also warned North Korea it should be "very, very nervous" of the consequences if it even thinks of attacking U.S. soil, after Pyongyang said it was readying plans to launch missiles towards the Pacific territory of Guam.

The Republican billionaire dismissed any criticism of his "fire and fury" warning of Tuesday, citing threats made by Kim's regime to both Washington and its allies.

"It's about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn't tough enough," Trump said.

Trump's comments, made from his golf club retreat in New Jersey, came after the North announced a detailed plan to send four missiles over Japan and towards Guam, where some 6,000 US soldiers are based.

Pyongyang said the scheme to target the island, a key U.S. military outpost in the western Pacific, was intended to "signal a crucial warning" as "only absolute force" would have an effect on a U.S. leader "bereft of reason".