North Korea on Saturday lashed out at the planned trilateral joint naval exercise next week among South Korea, the United States and Japan, calling it a plot to start a nuclear war.

The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said in a commentary monitored in Seoul that the large-scale maneuver involving a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can only be seen as a move that pours cold water on dialogue efforts with the North and will lead to heightened tensions.

The daily claimed that the military exercise set to take place off southern coast of the Korean Peninsula is a dangerous move that can spike up tensions and lead to confrontation.

It added that while Pyongyang values dialogue and peace, the communist country is ready to wage war and will respond forcefully to any action designed to start a nuclear conflict against the North.

Meanwhile, U.S. supercarrier USS George Washington, along with guided-missile warships, arrived at South Korea's southern port city of Busan on Friday, ahead of next week's joint maritime exercises that will run for three days starting Tuesday.

(Yonhap News)