North Korea has threatened to carry out an 'indiscriminate... pre-emptive strike of justice' against the U.S. and the South if the allies push ahead with a planned military drill on Monday.
The North's powerful National Defence Commission, citing the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army (KPA), made the threat just days after leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the country's nuclear arsenal to be placed on standby for use 'at any moment'.
However, the secretive state's ability to follow through on such a threat is not known as, while North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system.
The North's powerful National Defence Commission made the threat to strike U.S. and South just days after leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the country's nuclear arsenal to be placed on standby for use 'at any moment'
Pyongyang has issued dire warnings of nuclear attack in the past, usually during periods of elevated military tensions of the Korean peninsula.
The order to place the country's arsenal on stand-by came in response to tough new UN sanctions imposed over the North's fourth nuclear test in January and last month's long-range rocket launch.
Today's statement was released ahead of the annual military drill carried out by South Korean and American troops in the neighbouring country.
'Tragedy is that the U.S. and its followers have not yet realized how the illegal and outrageous "sanctions" make this land boil like a crucible of battle for wiping out the enemies,' the National Defence Commission wrote in a statement published on Korea's official newswire.
The statement goes on to describe the exercises as 'undisguised nuclear war drills' that threatened its national sovereignty.
In retaliation, the North vowed to carry out 'an indiscriminate nuclear strike... will clearly show those keen on aggression and war, the military mettle of (North Korea)'.
Any strike would not just target the Korean peninsula, but also U.S. bases on the mainland and in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.
The statement came hours before the South and the U.S. were due to carry out their annual military drill in the area. Pictured: A general view shows the entrance to the Osan US military air base, south of Seoul
'If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment,' it added.
The annual exercises slated to begin Monday -- called 'Foal Eagle' and 'Key Resolve' last for weeks and involve tens of thousands of US and South Korean troops.
Pyongyang has long condemned the drills as provocative rehearsals for invasion, while Seoul and Washington insist they are purely defensive in nature.
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