N. Korea scraps peace pacts as sanctions toughened

SEOUL (AFP) - An enraged North Korea responded to new United Nations (UN) sanctions with fresh threats of nuclear war on Friday, vowing to scrap peace pacts with South Korea as it upped the ante yet again after its recent atomic test.

The United States (US) warned the comments were "not helpful" and said the latest threats would not improve the lot of the North Korean people.

Pyongyang is renowned for its bellicose rhetoric, but the tone has reached a frenzied pitch in recent days, fuelling concerns of a border clash with both North and South planning major military exercises next week.

It has even threatened a "pre-emptive nuclear attack" against the US and South Korea - a notion dismissed as bluster by analysts, but not without dangerous, underlying intent.