LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister David Cameron says it would be "foolish" to abandon Britain's nuclear armed submarines amid the increased threat of an attack from North Korea.

Mr Cameron says that the nuclear threat against Britain has risen since the Cold War's end, citing Iran and the "highly unpredictable and aggressive regime" in North Korea as "evolving threats".

The prime minister's remarks were published on Thursday in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, hours after North Korea's military warned that it has been authorised to attack the US using nuclear weapons and Washington said it was moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam.

Mr Cameron argued that as Pyongyang develops ballistic missiles that could eventually threaten Europe, it would be "foolish to leave Britain defenseless against a continuing, and growing, nuclear threat".