If the United States and South Korea go ahead with scheduled naval maneuvers beginning Sunday in the Sea of Japan, North Korea has threatened to use what it calls “nuclear deterrence” against the two nations.

North Korea’s army and people will start a “retaliatory sacred war” if the maneuvers are carried out, said the nation’s official news agency.

North Korea is an “isolated and belligerent” regime engaged in a “campaign of provocative, dangerous behavior,” said US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who is in Vietnam for the ASEAN forum. She announced new economic sanctions against Pyongyang earlier this week.

The planned exercise was described by North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il as a threat to his nation’s sovereignty.

Members of the US and North Korean delegations did not meet at the ASEAN meeting, which has in the past been a venue for talks between the two sides.

The exercise was organized in response to the sinking in March of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. The ship had been torpedoed by a North Korean submarine, an international investigation concluded. The North denies any responsibility.

(Thanks to Voice of America and Zscout370)