This is an outright challenge to the sincere efforts of the DPRK to put an end to war on the Korean peninsula and turn it into the peaceful home of the nation, says Minju Joson in a commentary on Tuesday.

The commentary notes that since the very day when the schedule of joint military exercise was made public, the DPRK have strongly demanded their cancellation.

But the south Korean authorities answered the just demand with the launch of joint military exercise against the north.

This shows that the south Korean authorities have no will to prevent the situation on the Korean peninsula from being exacerbated, but seek only confrontation with the fellow countrymen, preoccupied to harm the DPRK.

Their anti-national and anti-peace acts incite the confrontation with the fellow countrymen again on this land, casting a dark shadow over all Koreans who were full of hope for peace.

The south Korean authorities are hell-bent on hurting the DPRK with much interest in war and confrontation rather than peace and dialogue. This compelled the DPRK to take countermeasures to remove potential and direct threats to its security.

The south Korean authorities can never flee from the responsibility for driving the situation into a critical phase.

The south Korean military warmongers will certainly pay dear price for bringing the hard-won phase for peace and dialogue to catastrophe.