North Korea threatens to turn Seoul and Washington into 'a heap of ashes' as military drills begin

US-South Korean military excercises have provoked North Korean threats in the past

People watch a TV news channel airing an image of North Korea's ballistic missile launch in June. North Korea has made nuclear threats before (AP)

North Korea has threatened nuclear attacks on Seoul and Washington as South Korea and the US began annual military drills on Monday.

The North's military has said that it will turn Seoul and Washington into "a heap of ashes through a Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike" if they show any signs of aggression toward the North's territory.

The extreme rhetoric from Pyongyang comes at a time of high tension. A US plan to place a high-tech defence missile system in South Korea and the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat, Thae Yong Ho, has deeply antagonised the North Korean leadership.

Now, state media in Pyongyang have warned the country's "first-strike" units are ready to mount retaliatory attacks on South Korean and US forces involved in the drills.

South Korea's Unification Ministry expressed strong regret over the North's warning, saying the drills with the US are defensive in nature. Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of invading Pyongyang.

This year's manoeuvres, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, began on Monday for a 12-day run and are largely computer-simulated war games. The training involves 25,000 American troops and 50,000 South Korean soldiers.

South Korea's president said on Monday there were signs of "serious cracks" in the North's ruling elite class, and that Pyongyang could carry out some action to divert public attention away from such domestic problems.

Analysts said the well-publicised defection of Thae Yong Ho was an embarrassment to the North Korean government of leader Kim Jong-un, but would not weaken the unity of the country's elite class.

Previous South Korea-US military drills have brought threats of war from Pyongyang.

North Korea has already boosted such war rhetoric because of the planned deployment of the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system in South Korea, which Washington and Seoul says is needed because of the increasing North Korean threats.

Press Association