North Korea has said it is "close to the brink of war" with its southern neighbour - and Britain has been warned to stay out of the fight.

The regime's foreign affairs representative for northern Europe, Pak Yun Sik, was speaking after the UK announced it would take part in joint military drills with South Korea and the US.

The war games will be played out in November as a training exercise in case there is ever a need for real thing in the region.

Mr Pak said angrily: "The situation on the Korean peninsula is close to the brink of war because of endless military exercises by American and South Korean forces targeting us.

"Now, Britain has decided to send its Typhoon fighter jets to take part in joint US-South Korean military drills, in the south of Korea, from 4 to 10 November.


"This is a hostile act, openly joining the US and South Korean forces in moves for a new war against us.

"Britain claims that this military exercise is not targeting us, but the US and South Korea openly say that these military exercises are aimed at launching a strike against our military facilities and our command structure."

Image: Kim Jong-Un has been unforgiving of South Korea's military exercises

He went on to say: "Britain should draw a serious lesson from its past when it took part in the Korean War, and suffered losses, and then when it took part in wars led by the US in Iraq and other countries, which resulted in a refugee crisis in Europe, and terrorism.

"Britain should immediately withdraw its decision to take part in these aggressive military drills."

The comments come after the North warned it would use nuclear weapons first if threatened by the US - and a day after its latest ballistic missile test apparently failed when the device exploded shortly after launch.

In August, the North's deputy ambassador to the UK defected to the South and was under protection from Seoul.

North and South Korea remain technically at war after fighting ended in 1953 with an armistice but no peace treaty.