North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has warned of a "very grave" situation on the Korean peninsula, quoted by North Korea's official KCNA agency. 

Earlier this week South and North Korea exchanged artillery fire across the sea  border and Kim threatened a new nuclear test. 

In a meeting with top military leaders on Tuesday, Kim blamed Washington and Seoul for the current frictions, saying they had trampled on peace overtures from Pyongyang.

"The current situation is very grave," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

Kim, the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), told his senior-most officers that despite the North's conciliatory gestures, South Korea and the United States had pushed ahead with joint military drills that Pyongyang views as rehearsals for invasion.

"The United States and other hostile forces, ignoring our magnanimity and goodwill, are viciously stepping up their manoeuvres in order to annihilate our republic politically, isolate it economically and crush it militarily," he said.

The North Korean military and people will never tolerate the "US policy of hostility" and will "crush it thoroughly", Kim added. 

On Monday, North Korea conducted a live fire drill along the disputed maritime border. After some shells crossed the boundary, South Korea responded and the two sides ended up firing hundreds of artillery rounds into each other's territorial waters. 

Meanwhile, South Korea continues the examination of the remains of what seems to be a rudimentary drone, allegedly sent by North Korea to spy on their neighbors. 

The drone crashed on Baengnyeong island on Monday afternoon. 

South Korean authorities say a preliminary investigation has concluded that the drone came from the North.

"The relevant departments of the South Korean government have confirmed that North Korea is responsible for it," said South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Park Soo-jin.

A similar drone was found in Paju, just south of the demilitarised zone that separates the two Koreas, on 24 March, Yonhap news agency reported.

It was equipped with a a high-resolution camera and had taken pictures of military installations and South Korea's presidential compound, the agency said.

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