North Korea on Monday (March 6) blamed the United States and South Korea for fueling tensions and "knowingly aggravating the situation" on the Korean peninsula with joint military exercises.
"The recent joint air exercises (...) clearly show that the plan to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, editor's note) is proceeding at the pace of a real war," the ministry said. North Korean Foreign Affairs in a statement.
"We deeply regret the irresponsible and worrying moves by the United States and South Korea, which constantly push the situation on the Korean Peninsula towards instability," the ministry quoted KCNA as saying.
North Korea calls for "an immediate halt to hostile military actions that disturb peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.
“If the dangerous military provocations by the United States and South Korea continue...there is no guarantee that there will not be a violent confrontation on the Korean peninsula where huge armies make a tense face-to-face."
defensive maneuvers
In a statement relayed by the official KCNA news agency, the ministry also denounced the large-scale exercises that the American and South Korean armies will launch next week.
The United States and South Korea have explained that the future joint maneuvers were defensive, but Pyongyang sees it as a repetition of an invasion.
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean number one Kim Jong-un, said in a separate statement that Pyongyang will view as a "declaration of war" any US military action against its strategic weapons tests .
With AFP and Reuters
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app