North Korea armed forces on high alert due to joint military exercises U.S. and Japan army 0810132.

Defence & Security News - North Korea

"Our armed forces are closely monitoring the North Korean military's movements and are fully prepared to take a decisive action against the North's possible provocations."

The United States, which has 28,500 troops stationed in the South, regularly engages in drills with its ally, and has said the aircraft carrier USS George Washington was leading a group of ships to visit South Korea in a routine port call.

In March, the North declared it was no longer bound by the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War signed with the United States and China, threatening to use nuclear weapons to attack U.S. and South Korean territories.

The U.S. Marine Corps and Japan 's Self-Defense Forces commenced joint military exercises on Tuesday, October 8, 2013, using the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft in the western Japanese prefecture of Shiga, local press reported.