This combo of file photos shows an image (L) taken on April 15, 2017 of Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-un on a balcony of the Grand People's Study House following a military parade in Pyongyang; and an image (R) taken on July 19, 2017 of U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in Washington, DC. (AFP PHOTO/SAUL LOEB AND Ed JONES)

MOSCOW, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- It has come very close to the potential use of force on the Korean Peninsula and it will be a "real catastrophe" if the situation goes that way, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday.

The United States fails to understand the serious consequences of an armed conflict, Zakharova was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

"Representatives of the U.S. establishment and Congressmen are reassuring people that it will not kill people in the United States but in other countries. I think they not only imply the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but also South Korea," she said.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the risk of a military conflict between the United States and the DPRK is very high, and Russia hopes common sense will prevail.

These warnings came after Pyongyang and Washington exchanged threats to use force against each other earlier this week.

The DPRK threatened Thursday that it would prepare a plan by mid-August to strike the U.S. territory of Guam with intermediate missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that "Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded."