N.Korea steps up verbal threats ahead of U.S.-S.Korea military drills

North Korea ramped up its threatening language against the United States on Friday, days before the start of annual joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that often trigger an angry response from Pyongyang.

North Korea regularly protests the annual exercises, which it calls a rehearsal for war, and has recently stepped up its own air, sea and ground military exercises, amid a period of increased tension between the rival Koreas.