Kim Jong-un threatens WAR as he warns North Korea will not hesitate to ‘annihilate’ South as he visits missile factory

NORTH Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to start a war as he gives a fiery warning over not hesitating to "annihilate" South Korea.

The Supreme Leader also labelled South Korea as his country's "principal enemy", and that he has "no intention of avoiding war", according to state media.

Kim's chilling threats over annihilating the South came as he warned them over using any kind of force against his beloved nation.

The fierce leader said he doesn't plan on starting a war anytime soon but has "no intention of avoiding a war as well".

He said if the South was to: "Use armed forces against the DPRK or threaten its sovereignty and security and such opportunity comes, we will have no hesitation in annihilating the ROK by mobilising all means and forces in our hand."

His menacing statements all came as the North Korean despot went round major missile factories earlier in the week, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

South Korea responded to the threat by calling it "mere wordplay".

A foreign ministry official said: "(Kim's statement) presupposes South Korea using force against the North despite the fact that it has never initiated any,

"The government will firmly respond to any provocations by North Korea. Any attempts to create tensions on the Korean Peninsula will ultimately cause harm to the North Korean regime itself."

This comes after the sister of Kim - Kim Yo-Jong - vowed to unleash an "immediate military strike" on neighbouring South Korea over the "slightest provocation".

The close ally of the Korean dictator, said North Korea wouldn't hesitate to attack its "enemy" as tensions explode on the border.

The pairs disturbing comments follow several days of shelling into the sea north of the border dubbed the biggest escalation in years.

Seoul accused Pyongyang of blasting more than 200 shells towards Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands, close to the countries’ sea border.

The south condemned the bombardment as a “provocative act that threatens peace”.

Local residents were told to evacuate and ferries were suspended.

After the initial firing of hundreds of artillery shells on Friday morning, South Korean authorities issued evacuation orders.

They said the North fired a further 60 rounds on Saturday near the disputed border, followed by more than 90 on Sunday.