EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL North Korean soldiers are put through their paces in Pyongyang - following an ominous threat by their government to tear up the 1953 armistice that ended the war on the Korean peninsula. On Tuesday - in a rare television appearance - top North Korean general Kim Yong Chol said the North could use nuclear weapons if South Korean and U.S. soldiers continued with what Pyongyang considers a hostile joint military exercise. The South Korean government's response to this latest round of sabre-rattling has been clear. South Korean Major General Kim Yong-Hyun said that should the North undertake any provocation, they have quote a 'strong and decisive punishment in place' that would involve targetting the North's leadership. Meanwhile China, North Korea's only strategic and economic ally, urged restraint. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN HUA CHUNYING SAYING: "The current peninsular situation is complex and sensitive. China calls on the relevant parties to keep calm and exercise restraint for a long-term of protection of peninsula and regional peace and stability." The armistice signed in 1953 ended the bloody three year Korean war, but without declaring either side the victor. About 200,000 Korean troops and 10,000 U.S. forces are being mobilized for their military exercise that involves land, sea and air maneuvers.