SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea’s military threatened Sunday to launch the “severest punishment” against South Korea for staging massive joint war games with the United States this week.

The North’s army and people will “deal a merciless counterblow” to the allies “as it had already resolved and declared at home and abroad”, a spokesman for the country’s army General Staff said in a statement published by state media.

“The military counteraction of (North Korea) will be the severest punishment no one has ever met in the world,” he said.

For more on this Yahoo.com/AFP story, go to:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100815/wl_asia_afp/skoreankoreausmilitarydrill