FORMER President Fidel Ramos over the weekend said the Philippines should use its diplomatic influence on North Korea to prevent a nuclear stalemate that could paralyze business and economic activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Our efforts should be on the diplomatic side because we have diplomatic relations with North Korea," Ramos said following his arrival from Mumbai, India where he co-hosted a global forum.

North Korea has warned the United States of nuclear retaliation if the Obama administration makes good its pledge to provide nuclear defenses to South Korea.

The North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun, in a lengthy editorial on the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, accused the US of provoking war in the 1950s.

The paper also said North Korea would "never give up its nuclear deterrent…and will further strengthen it if attacked by the United States."

In the face of this saber rattling, Ramos said the Philippines should be alarmed, not because it could be the target of nuclear weapons or artillery, but because of the resulting regional economic paralysis that would surely hit the country.

He said like in the game of chess, the threat in the move is more powerful than the move itself.

"And I am sure that should North Korea persist with its threat, even if they don’t carry them out, they would be holding everybody in suspense," he said.

He said the suspense would make people hold back or seek refuge elsewhere, and trade among Asian countries would be affected. "That is the biggest damage that could happen in the Philippines," he added.

Ramos reminded the Arroyo government that 50,000 Filipinos living or working in South Korea would suffer if Seoul, which is just near the border with Pyongyang, is hit by artillery fire.

He said government must stay alert on the developments in the Korean peninsula.

Tension between the two countries has risen since Pyongyang launched its second underground nuclear test last month. There have been speculations by the Japanese media that North Korea might launch a long-range test missile toward Hawaii on July 4.

Ramos said the US and Japan should monitor shipments from North Korea to quell the fears of developed countries that North Korea might sell its nuclear weapons to other countries, or even to the terrorist group Al Qaeda.

He said several nuclear powers like Iran, Pakistan and India, and even the Al Qaeda, want to build a nuclear bomb so that they can threaten the world.

Ramos said just like President Arroyo’s succession problem, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il wants his son Kim Jong Un, whom he named as head of the country’s spy agency, to succeed him.