A tweet written by Donald Trump but not sent at the last minute would have sparked war with North Korea, according to Bob Woodard.

In an interview with CBS News, the veteran journalist teased a scene from his upcoming book ‘Fear: Trump in the White House’ that illustrates just one example of the President doing something that could “threaten the national security or the financial security of the country, or of the world”.

“He drafts a tweet saying ’We are going to pull out dependents from South Korea… Family members of the 28,000 people there,” said Woodward.

The tweet was never sent due to the White House receiving a message from North Korea saying it would regard a pullout of dependents as a sign the US was preparing to attack.

Woodward said: “At that moment there was a sense of profound alarm in the Pentagon leadership that, ’My God, one tweet and we have reliable information that the North Koreans are going to read this as an attack is imminent.

The story is just one of many revelations from the book which is due out on 11 September.

Trump has already said the book is “lies” but the content released so far fits with the picture of a White House in constant chaos painted by a number of other books.

The book’s premise was further bolstered last week by an op-ed in The New York Times in which an anonymous senior official described secret “resistance” members around the “impetuous” and “petty” President who are “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

It added: “We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.”

It may be “cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,” the author wrote. “We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”