The joint statement accused the south Korean military warmongers of committing such grave military provocation against the DPRK as recklessly firing shells at the latter's patrol boat on a routine marine duty.

It went on:

The warmongers' shelling was a deliberate provocation for escalating the tension on the Korean Peninsula once again by sparking a military clash in the sensitive waters of the West Sea of Korea.

What was more dangerous was that such reckless shelling was timed to coincide with such madcap war drills as joint naval maneuver and Hoguk exercises the south Korean military warmongers kicked off with a U.S. nuclear carrier involved.

The reckless provocation was perpetrated at a time when the reunion of separated families and relatives from the north and the south was under way at the Mt. Kumgang Resort, an act of challenging the expectation of the Korean nation towards the sustainable improvement of the north-south relations and the country's reunification.

The south Korean military reacted to the DPRK's positive measure for detente with reckless shelling, bringing to light its true colors as provocateurs.

The statement urged the warmongers to halt the military provocation against the DPRK.