'No plans' to move military assets

The United States does not plan to move any military assets from Afghanistan to the Korean peninsula and has not asked Britain for any logistical support in the region, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

Mr Hammond welcomed US efforts to "calm tensions" in the region at a time of "huge risks", as North Korea continues to ramp up rhetoric around its nuclear ambitions and an imminent missile launch.

In the Commons, shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy asked Mr Hammond if he had engaged in discussions with the US about Britain providing logistical support in the region.

Mr Murphy added: "Should the US move any military assets out of Afghanistan to that region, has he confirmed to the US that the UK would be willing to fill any of the gaps created by that redeployment?"

Mr Hammond replied: "There have been no discussions and no requests as far as I am aware from the US, certainly at ministerial level, for any form of logistical support in relation to the current tensions on the Korean peninsula. As far as I am aware there is no proposal by the US to move any assets from the Afghanistan theatre in response to this crisis."

The Defence Secretary said the situation in North Korea highlighted the need for Britain to retain its Trident nuclear deterrent.

"There are huge risks at a time of heightened tension and huge potential for miscalculation and that's why I very much welcome the initiative that the United States is currently engaged in in trying to calm tensions around the Korean peninsula," he said, in response to a question from Conservative MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone.

Mr Hammond said he would "bet his bottom dollar" that North Korea was looking to integrate its nuclear technology into a ballistic missile.

Meanwhile, William Hague said North Korea faces further isolation from the rest of the world if it continues with its nuclear programme.

The Foreign Secretary said the communist state had to engage in "constructive engagement" with the international community or it could end up a "broken country".