Pyongyang Threatens to ‘Give a Military Rebuff’ to US-S. Korea Drills

According to the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of North Korea, the opportunity for dialogue and diplomacy “has been missed” and it remains to “strengthen military deterrence forces”

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Pyongyang threatened to respond militarily to the joint US-South Korea military drills, scheduled for March 2, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of North Korea reported Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, South Korea and the United States announced that the military exercises, codenamed the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, would begin in March. The former presupposes mostly computer-simulated exercises, while the latter will involve air, ground and maritime drills.

"Joint military exercises Key Resolve and Toksuri [Foal Eagle] are not aimed at defense, it is an aggressive military provocation," Rodong Sinmun reported Tuesday. "The opportunity for dialogue and diplomacy has already been missed. It remains only to strengthen military deterrence forces and to give a military rebuff."

In January, the United States rejected Pyongyang's proposal to suspend its nuclear tests if Washington canceled its joint drills with Seoul. Pyongyang has already carried out three nuclear weapons tests, most recently in 2013.

The two Koreas are still formally in a state of war, as no peace treaty was signed after the Korean War of 1950-1953. Therefore, both countries remain particularly sensitive to each other's military drills.