Pyongyang on Tuesday warned Seoul and Washington of an expansive retaliation against any attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or invade the communist nation.

"All the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign of their special operation forces and equipment moving to carry out the so-called 'beheading operation' and 'high-density strike,'" said the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army in a statement carried by state media.

According to Pyongyang, the joint military exercises between South Korea and the US are annual preparations for an overt war.

The military's statement added that its first target would be Seoul's presidential Blue House, saying it is "the center for hatching plots for confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north, and reactionary ruling machines."

It added that it would also target American bases in the Asia-Pacific and mainland US.

North Korea has "the most powerful and ultra-modern strike means" in the world capable of "dealing fatal blows at the US mainland any moment and in any place," the statement noted.

Seoul and Washington maintain that the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle war games are for defense purposes

The threats, which Pyongyang often makes ahead of US-South Korea war games, comes as Seoul's defense ministry announced it would hold its largest annual military exercises with American troops this year, although it has not confirmed a date.

In February, South Korea suspended operations at a jointly-run industrial park with North Korea following the latter's rocket launch, which Pyongyang claimed was to place a satellite in orbit.

The international community largely agreed the move was an attempt to test the communist nation's ability to launch long-range rockets.

The UN Security Council is considering tougher sanctions to punish North Korea over the rocket launch and a nuclear bomb test in January.

The Korean Peninsula was divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone - one of the most militarized borders on the planet, despite the name - following a truce in 1953. The two sides never signed a full peace deal.

Faces of the Korean War Abandoned in the rubble The armistice agreement on July 27, 1953 marked the end of almost three years of war. In September 1950, all alone, this girl cries desperately in the ruins of Incheon. The child's identity is unknown. Shortly before this picture was taken, American troops had retaken the South Korean city from North Korean troops. At this stage of the conflict it all pointed to a South Korean victory.

Faces of the Korean War Caught between the lines This family's hut is located in the border area between the warring North and South. By the summer of 1951, the conflict had become static, taking place mainly along the 38th parallel.

Faces of the Korean War A constant flow of refugees These North Korean refugees try to escape the fierce battles that have been raging on since 1951. On their way south they pass by frozen rice fields.

Faces of the Korean War Heading south A Korean civilian carries his father on his back as they cross the Han River in 1951. Despite the counter offensive launched by UN forces to stop the Chinese and North Korean troops, Korean civilians continued to flee the northern Korean region.

Faces of the Korean War Uprooted A total of 4.5 million North Koreans left their homes because of the war and headed south or abroad. Its unclear how many people lost their lives during the three-year conflict. By the time the armistice agreement was signed in 1953, North Korea had lost half of its pre-war population.

Faces of the Korean War Left in ruins Carrying her wounded grandchild on her back, this elderly woman wanders among the debris of their wrecked home in the aftermath of an air raid by US planes over Pyongyang, the Communist capital of North Korea, in the fall of 1950.

Faces of the Korean War Foreign rescuers A fateful encounter: In the cold of winter, US lieutenant William Doernbach comes across this Korean orphan girl in a deserted village and leaves her in the care of an orphanage. She escapes the orphanage and finds her rescuer. They reunite in May 1951. Author: Esther Felden / gd



ls/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)