NORTH Korea has declared the White House will be turned to ashes in a “stern warning” to the US.

Kim Jong-un’s state media published a 2,000 word statement slamming US activity in the Korean Peninsula and promising victory for the DPRK. North Korea’s military commentator declared the White House will be “reduced ashes” as it claimed the US was planning to destroy Pyongyang. 330,000 US soldiers took part in military drills designed to rehearse an “all-out war” with the DPRK, it claimed. The piece concluded North Korea “will retaliate” and promised the “the crime-woven history of the US imperialists will be over”.

GETTY NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-un's state media threatened the White House would be 'ashes'

Inside North Korea: The pictures Kim Jong-un doesn't want you to see Since 2008, photographer Eric Lafforgue ventured to North Korea six times. Thanks to digital memory cards, he was able to save photos that was forbidden to take inside the segregated state 1 / 62 Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Medi Taking pictures in the DMZ is easy, but if you come too close to the soldiers, they stop you

“This is a stern warning to the US imperialists and their stooges running amuck for aggression and war move” KCNA Kim’s mouthpiece slammed the US for “ceaseless hostile policy” as North Korea continues to quest for a nuclear ICBM. US forces were lashed with a parade of insults – branding them “murderous ogres”, “robbers”, “air pirates” and “warriors who master the occult arts”. North Korea went on slam the US as a “hotbed of evil” which needed to be hit with a “indiscriminate preemptive nuclear strike” to transform the superpower into “something that cannot come back to life again”. It said the war drills Key Resolve and Foal Eagle were “hideous state-sponsored terrorism” which were the “most vicious and adventurous in history”.

GETTY NUCLEAR WAR: North Korea showed off missiles at a parade in Pyongyang

GETTY KIM JONG-UN: North Korea's leader is determined to build a nuclear ICBM

Tensions have peaked with North Korea amid fears Kim is readying for a sixth nuclear bomb test after a string of ballistic missile tests. US President Donald Trump has taken a tough line on Pyongyang – sending an “armada” to take part in war games with South Korea and Japan. Both Russia and China have called for calm in the region as threat of nuclear war looms over the Korean Peninsula. Congress voted through plans for further sanctions on North Korea, which Russia warned could be considered a “declaration of war”.

Kim Jong BLING: the luxury lifestyle of North Korea's tubby tyrant As his people starve in gulags, North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un is renowned for his extravagant and luxurious lifestyle. Basketball player Dennis Rodman, who spent time with the dictator, said "Everything you want, he has the best" 1 / 14 AFP Horses are a well known extravagance of the super-rich

North Korea’s article published by the KCNA said: "This is a stern warning to the US imperialists and their stooges running amuck for aggression and war moves. "The world will clearly witness how the crime-woven history of the U.S. imperialists will be over, how the despicable remaining days of the south Korean puppet forces will come to an end and how national reunification, the cherished desire of the Korean nation, will be achieved.” The editorial also praised supreme leader Kim's “matchless pluck and iron will” and said he was a man who “defended the sovereignty and dignity of the country and the right to existence of the people”. Published today, the piece ran under the title “Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 17 Joint Military Drills Discover Heinous and Warlike Intent”.

FORBIDDEN photos show the true North Korean army While tourists are free to visit the secretive state as part of strictly controlled tour groups, they are told to never take photos of soldiers by their handlers. These images taken by photographer Eric Lafforgue show the truth behind North Korean military service: a life of hard physical labour with the perks of visits to the nation's capital 1 / 24 ERIC LAFFORGUE/EXCLUSIVEPIX MEDI Many soldiers are used as a labor force to compensate for the ineffective North Korean economy, so the army is not only about military organization.