NORTH KOREA threatened unspecified stern steps against the United States and South Korea on Friday ahead of their forthcoming military drills.

Pyongyang has described this and previous US and South Korean drills as a provocative war rehearsal.

The US and South Korean militaries are set to start their major summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises on Monday and have described their scope as similar to past years.

The allies say the 11-day exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and claim they are defensive in nature.

But in a statement on Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the US-South Korean drills “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.

“It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement said.

North Korea “will more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defence.”

North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative nature and dangerousness than last year” and involve all the military assets and war-fighting modes of the US and South Korea.

A statement from the US military, issued on Friday, said US and South Korean forces will practice joint operations in complex scenarios, including a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and manoeuvre, a wet gap crossing, and distribution of pre-positioned military equipment.

North Korea’s neighbours detected two ballistic missile launches off the North’s east coast in the past week.

North Korea hasn’t commented on the launches, but outside experts assess they were likely meant to protest the US-South Korean drills or upgrade its weapons systems.