Any potential military strike by the US on North Korea would “wreak havoc” on the Korean peninsula, the former US Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, has told BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur.

The next people to suffer after any kind of attack on North Korea would be South Korea, said Mr Negroponte, explaining that the proximity of Seoul to the border means it is a “hostage” to North Korean weaponry.

"It would just be some kind of a holocaust," said Mr Negroponte, adding that the "hostage-type situation" that exists on the peninsula is one of the fundamental conundrums of US policy towards Korea.

“Political and diplomatic means of solving this must be found and that is the right approach,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Friday, 8 September 2017 on BBC World News, BBC News Channel and BBC iPlayer (UK only)