Pope ‘afraid’ world is ‘one accident’ from nuclear war

ON BOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis said on Monday that the world stood on the "edge" of nuclear war and admitted the situation terrified him. The Argentine was speaking aboard the papal plane on his way to Chile and Peru, the day after a false missile alert sparked panic in the US state of Hawaii, already on edge over fears of a North Korean attack.

Asked about the threat of nuclear war in the wake of a flurry of nuclear and missile tests since last year in North Korea, the pope said: "I think we are at the very edge". "I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things," he told journalists.