The US and South Korean militaries started a massive joint annual exercise Monday, a drill that has drawn North Korean threats of nuclear retaliation. North Korea will "turn the stronghold of provocation into a heap of ashes through Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike" if the US and South Korea "show the slightest sign of aggression" during the drill, a spokesman for North Korea's military was quoted as saying by the country's state media. North Korean forces are "ready to mount a pre-emptive retaliatory strike at all enemy attack groups involved in Ulchi Freedom Guardian," he said, referring to the exercise by its official name. The exercise takes place almost exactly one year after North Korean troops shelled South Korean territory and only days after South Korea welcomed the highest-ranking North Korean official defector in decades. Read more http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/22/politics/north-korea-south-korea-us-military-exercise/index.html
