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North Korea has pledged a "sacred war of justice for reunification" including a nuclear strike against the United States, Al Jazeera reports citing North Korea's National Defence Commission headed by the nation’s leader Kim Jong-un.

North Korea’s threats came as a response to the joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington.

South Korean and United States troops began large-scale military exercises on Monday in an annual test of their defences against North Korea.

The joint US and South Korean military command said it had notified North Korea of "the non-provocative nature of this training" involving about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans.

North Korea's National Defence Commission said the North Korean army and people would "realise the greatest desire of the Korean nation through a sacred war of justice for reunification", in response to any attack by the U.S. and South Korean forces.

Its response would include nuclear weapons and their use against the United States, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a statement on Monday.