News - Middle East: North Korea says it has decided to take "important practical" war deterrence measures in an attempt to deal with the United States and South Korea’s provocations, as the two allies are set to hold large-scale joint military drills.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday that the decision was made at a meeting of the ruling party's military commission presided over by the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.

"The meeting discussed and adopted the important practical steps for making more effective, powerful and offensive use of the war deterrent," the report said.

The move is aimed at "coping with the present situation in which the war provocations of the US and South Korea are reaching the red line," it added, without elaborating on the measures.

Washington and Seoul are preparing to kick off their largest joint military exercises in five years on March 13-23.The drills are going to be held despite Pyongyang's threats to take “unprecedently” strong action against such training.