PYONGYANG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Thursday it will hold the United States responsible if a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, in the latest development of an exchange of accusations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Speaking at a meeting gathering foreign diplomats and journalists based here, DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Sin Hong Chol said the Korean Peninsula is on the brink of war, as the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military games involve a special drill designed to ultimately behead the DPRK leadership and destroy the country's nuclear and missile bases.

The DPRK military warned last week it would "launch preemptive strike at a time of its own choice and its own style" as the DPRK has been openly threatened with "special operations" by U.S. troops to behead its leadership and destroy the country's nuclear facilities.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Monday described the warning by the DPRK military as provocative and inflammatory.

In response, the DPRK vice foreign minister said the scale and strength of the on-going joint military exercises by the United States and South Korean forces are unprecedented and some notorious "mystery forces" special for beheading operations are joining the exercise.

He also said that Washington has worked hard to justify the war rehearsals, talking about their transparency, but it is no more than nonsense.

"As the strategic depth of the DPRK is not big, the only way to defend itself from the sudden preemptive attack from the U.S. modern strategic assets and special warfare units is just to mount a resolute preemptive attack," he said.

"In case a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. will be held wholly accountable for it, no matter who will launch a preemptive attack," he added.