North Korea's Kim visits military unit involved in shelling S. Korea

SEOUL (AFP) - With tensions surging on the Korean peninsula, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talked of "all-out war" as he toured a frontline unit that shelled the South in 2010, state media said on Friday.

Visiting two islands close to the disputed maritime border with South Korea on Thursday, Mr Kim said the North's military was "fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The tour coincided with an outpouring of vitriol from Pyongyang over UN sanctions imposed for its nuclear test last month, with the North threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the US and its allies, and vowing to rip up peace pacts with South Korea.

Speaking to troops stationed on the islands, Mr Kim said the slightest provocation would result in his immediate order for a "great advance" along the entire frontline with the South.