The exercises are an action of casting a chill over the broad-minded peace proposal made by the DPRK to defuse the tension on the Korean Peninsula and build confidence between the north and the south, the statement said.

The DPRK, independent and peace-loving, recently made a series of important and constructive proposals for detente, confidence-building between the north and the south, peace and reunification, it recalled, saying:

But, the south Korean authorities turned down those peace proposals and intentionally brought to rupture the preliminary talks for opening the north-south high-level military talks held with much effort.

The joint military exercises for aggression reveal the true colors of the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces as an aggressor and provoker of a war.

They are a wanton violation of the DPRK's independence and dignity, and lurking behind them is a sinister intention to torpedo down socialist Juche Korea.

We strongly demand that the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces cancel their joint military drills at once and stop the provocations to the DPRK.