The statement recalled that the largest-ever drill, codenamed Max Thunder, is being staged in the sky above south Korea from April 11 to 25.

It referred to the fact that U.S. and south Korean marine corps recently carried out the Ssangyong landing drill aimed at "occupying Pyongyang" in the area of Phohang, North Kyongsang Province.

All these are an undisguised hostile act of deteriorating the relations between the south and the north and escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, the statement noted.

It went on:

The war-like forces are openly saying that the drill with at least 100 planes and more than 1 400 troops involved is a "drill for precision bombardment of the stronghold of the north and a drill for transport planes of the air force to supply war materials to special unit infiltrated deep into area of the north."

This shows that the war exercises are offensive ones under the simulated condition of a real war.

The statement queried whether the U.S. and the south Korean authorities have the will for peace on the Korean peninsula while staging the largest-ever war exercises or not.