The DPRK's relations with the US remain as tense as ever: Pyongyang has put the United States and South Korea on notice for a pre-emptive strike, following large-scale joint military exercises by Washington and Seoul. 

DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong Chol called the scale and strength of the drills unprecedented and said his country would hold the US responsible if war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula.

“The US plans to behead our leadership and major strategic bases by special operations and increasing nuclear threats and blackmail... we are exercising our right to self-defense to cope with this pre-emptive strike,” said Sin.