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GENEVA (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he fears North Korea is on a collision course with other nations that could lead to war.

Ban says "the current crisis has already gone too far" because of escalating tensions raised by North Korea's almost daily threats of war against the United States and South Korea.

North Korea also vowed today to escalate production of nuclear weapons material, including restarting a plutonium reactor shut down in 2007.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea is vowing a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States. The harsh rhetoric Thursday comes hours ahead of a vote by U.N. diplomats on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for "pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the headquarters of the aggressors" because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.

Such inflammatory rhetoric is common from North Korea. But it has been coming regularly in recent days. North Korea is angry over the possible sanctions and over upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills.