North Korea's military has strongly condemned the upcoming joint US-South Korean war games in the tense peninsula. On Thursday, an army spokesman said in Pyongyang that the drill is a rehearsal for the invasion of the North.
It cautioned that it will respond to any aggression with nuclear weapons, if necessary.
The United States is expected to send 18,000 troops to South Korea for the maneuver, which is scheduled for 8 March 2010.
Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war. The Korean War between 1950 and 1953 ended with a truce but not a peace treaty.