Pentagon documents reveal how America once planned for a nuclear war with North Korea

Declassified documents published Friday show the U.S. analyzing war strategies in a nuclear standoff with North Korea over two decades ago, The Associated Press reports.

In 1994, North Korea did not have the nuclear weapons it possesses today, but the U.S. still considered pursuing an armed conflict. In the declassified documents, the Pentagon estimated that winning a war against North Korea would cost 52,000 American service member casualties in the first three months, AP reports. At the time, the Clinton administration also considered using a cruise missile to destroy a North Korean nuclear reactor.

Earlier this week, North Korea's Foreign Ministry warned that war might still "break out" between the U.S. and North Korea as President Trump increased military drills with South Korea, AP reports.

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A special envoy to North Korea during the Clinton administration, William Perry, said at a defense briefing in Washington that an "all-out war with North Korea" could "entail casualties approximating those of World War I or even World War II."