The United States is reported to be formulating a new and more aggressive military strategy to counter any attack on South Korea by troops from the communist North.

Senior US officials, quoted by the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review, are reported to have said that under the new plan American and South Korean troops would respond to a North Korean military advance by launching a full-scale invasion of the country.

The paper says the revised strategy is awaiting approval by military chiefs in the United States and South Korea.

Existing US policy on a possible North Korean invasion calls only for defence of the border between the North and South.