As North warns of missile plan, U.S.-South Korea wargames near

SEOUL, South Korea -- U.S. and South Korean military officials plan to move ahead with large-scale exercises later this month that North Korea, now finalizing plans to launch a salvo of missiles toward Guam, claims are a rehearsal for war.

The exercises are an annual event but come as Pyongyang says it is readying a plan to fire off four Hwasong-12 missiles toward the U.S. island territory and major military hub. The plan would be sent to leader Kim Jong Un for approval just before or as the U.S.-South Korea exercises begin.

Called Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, the exercises are expected to run from Aug. 21 to 31 and involve tens of thousands of American and South Korean troops on the ground and in the sea and air. Washington and Seoul said the exercises are defensive in nature and crucial to maintaining a deterrent against North Korean aggression.

The exercises were scheduled before tensions began to rise over President Donald Trump's fiery rhetoric and North Korea's announcement of the missile plan, which would be its most provocative launch yet.

Along with a bigger set of maneuvers held every spring, the exercises routinely are met by strong condemnation and threats of countermeasures from North Korea.

The country conducted its fifth nuclear test just days after last year's Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises concluded.

While tensions typically spike around the dates of the exercises, the situation generally calms afterward. But the heightened military activity on the peninsula this time is a concern because it could increase the possibility of a mishap or an overreaction of some sort by either side that could spin into a more serious escalation.

North Korea has been increasingly sensitive to the exercises lately because they reportedly include training for "decapitation strikes" to kill Kim Jong Un and his top lieutenants.

Pyongyang also is switching its propaganda machine into high gear by bringing in a large number of foreign journalists to ensure it gets global attention for an event next week in honor of its ruling Kim family on Mount Paektu, a dormant volcano that straddles the Chinese border and is something of a spiritual home for the regime.