"Our army and people are turning out as one in the sacred anti-US struggle with burning hatred for the US imperialist aggressors and the unshakable resolution to take revenge upon them," Kim was quoted as saying.

"No force on earth can match the single-mindedly united forces in the DPRK (North Korea) which no weapon can ever frighten or destroy."

KCNA carried a separate statement warning the United States and South Korea against their joint military exercises.

"Our army and people, convinced that peace is guaranteed only by arms, are fully ready to respond to preemptive attack with preemptive strike, a nuclear war with nuclear deterrent," said the statement from the North's committee formed for the summit in 2000 with Seoul.

On Saturday South Korea and the United States launched the large-scale joint exercises, which are to last for one week.

US officials have said the exercises are "defensive" in nature but North Korea has accused Seoul and Washington of rehearsing for a nuclear attack on the communist state.

Pyongyang delayed high-level peace talks with South Korea over the war games, saying the drills would also set back efforts to end the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Under a mutual defense treaty, 650,000 South Korean troops, backed by 32,000 US troops, have been confronting North Korea's 1.1-million-strong army on the peninsula since the 1950-1953 Korean War.

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