NORTH KOREA’S ARMED FORCES  minister has said the country is prepared to engage in a “sacred war of justice” using the nuclear deterrent, the BBC reports.

Minister Kim Yong-chun says that recent South Korean military drills showed that it was preparing for war with the north.

Tensions between the two warring neighbours have been building since March, when a South Korean warship was torpedoed and sunk. The South blamed the North for the incident.

In November, an exchange of fire between the North and South killed four people, two marines and two civilians, on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. Each blamed the other for beginning the assault. The South promised retaliation if any further attacks were carried out.

More recently, military drills conducted by the South and a giant Christmas tree on the south side of the border have added to difficulties between the two. Those drills have been carried out near the demilitarised zone along the border between the two countries.

The US, Russia and China have each urged the two Koreas to maintain peace.