North Korea calls US-South Korea drills a dangerous provocative act

The North Korea Foreign Ministry said U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises are "a dangerous provocative act," state media KCNA reported on Monday.

Annual South Korean and U.S. military exercises called Freedom Shield are due to begin on Monday and run until March 20.

They aim to strengthen the readiness of the alliance for threats such as North Korea, the South Korean military said earlier.


North Korea has traditionally called for these joint exercises to be called off, branding them as a prelude to invasion.

"This is a dangerous provocative act of leading the acute situation on the Korean peninsula, which may spark off a physical conflict between the two sides by means of an accidental single shot, to the extreme point," the Foreign Ministry said, according to KCNA.

The drills will harm U.S. security, the ministry added.