Presstv | North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of seeking a regime change in the country, threatening to launch nuclear strikes to counter any provocations by the two.

"Those who seek to bring down the system in the DPRK (North Korea)... will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army," a North Korean General Staff spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.

The spokesman cited a South Korean newspaper report as evidence of desperate moves of the US imperialists on the Korean Peninsula.

On March 19th, a South Korean newspaper claimed that the US Pacific Command will meet with South Korean and Chinese think-tanks next month.

Based on the report, they are slated to hold talks on how to control the North's weapons of mass destruction in the event that the government in Pyongyang collapses.

Earlier this month, North Korea criticized the South for planning joint military war games with the United States. The North Korean military said the drill was a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.

Pyongyang also stated that it will respond to any aggression with nuclear weapons if necessary. North has vowed to enlarge its nuclear arsenal to counter what it describes as US "military threats and provocations."

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high since the North's missile test in April 2009.

Following the move, the UN Security Council toughened sanctions against Pyongyang resulting in the North walking out of the six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear program.