The Hokkaido Citizens' Council for Japan-Korea Solidarity disclosed the aggressive nature of the joint military exercises, saying that they are the dangerous drills aimed to mount a preemptive attack on the DPRK and "occupy Pyongyang".

The large-scale military exercises staged by the U.S. and south Korea against the DPRK every year are military provocations violating the Armistice Agreement, it noted.

It urged the U.S. and south Korea to opt for defusing military tension on the Korean peninsula.

The Fukushima Prefectural People's Council for Japan-Korea Friendship demanded an immediate stop to the joint military exercises escalating military tension on the Korean peninsula and threatening Japan's security and peace.

It accused the Japanese government of keeping mum about the joint military exercises while pulling up the DPRK over its missile launching drill.