North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called South Korea the country's "principal enemy" and said he has "no intention of avoiding war," state media said Wednesday, Paralel.Az reports citing Yonhap News Agency.

Kim also threatened to annihilate the South if it attempts to use force against the North, as he inspected major munitions factories Monday and Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"Predicating that the ROK clan is our principal enemy, he said what the DPRK should prioritize in the relations with the hostile state" is "to bolster up the military capabilities for self-defense and the nuclear war deterrent first of all," the KCNA said, using the acronyms for the official names of the South and the North.

Kim said he will not start a war unilaterally but has "no intention of avoiding a war as well."

Should the South attempt 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 mobilizing all means and forces in our hands," Kim was quoted as saying.

South Korea dismissed Kim's threat to annihilate the South as "mere wordplay."

"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," the official said.