Obama preemptively waves white flag in 3… 2… 1.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (CBS/AP) — South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S.

Japanese media were citing a story in the Monday edition of North Korea’s ruling party newspaper as saying the armistice is no longer in effect.

Anti-war demonstrators turned out near the U.S. Embassy in the South Korean capital of Seoul to protest the start of the drills.

Pyongyang had launched a bombast-filled propaganda campaign against the drills, which involve 10,000 South Korean and about 3,000 American troops, and against last week’s U.N. vote to impose new sanctions over the North’s Feb. 12 nuclear test. Analysts believe much of that campaign is meant to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong Un.