North Korea's Embassy in China on Thursday expressed strong opposition to Seoul and Washington's ongoing joint military drills, saying that they are raising tension on the divided peninsula, diplomatic sources said.
The North's embassy told a group of invited foreign correspondents that the planned deployment of an advanced US missile defense system on South Korean soil will hurt strategic balance in Asia, they added.
North Korea denied South Korean media's access to the press conference, only opening to a select group of foreign reporters.
Officials at the North Korean Embassy in China restrict the entry of South Korean reporters into the building ahead of a press conference with foreign correspondents on March 16, 2017. (Yonhap)
"We cannot accept the joint military drills as they are sparking tensions on the Korean Peninsula," North Korean diplomat Pak Myong-ho was quoted as telling reporters by the sources.
The angry reaction came as Seoul and Washington are conducting their annul joint military drills. The two-month Foal Eagle combat training exercise kicked off on March 1 and the computer-based war game Key Resolve started Monday for a two-week run.
Pyongyang has long denounced the exercises as war rehearsals for a northern invasion despite Seoul and Washington's assurance that they are defensive in nature.
Pak also claimed that the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea poses threats to North Korea, China and Russia, according to the sources.
Last Tuesday, Seoul and Washington began installing a THAAD battery on South Korean soil in a bid to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
"The deployment of the THAAD system will undermine strategic balance in Asia," Pak said.
Meanwhile, the diplomat insisted that the latest incident in Malaysia is a political scheme by the U.S. and South Korea which is aimed at damaging the North's reputation. He was referring to the killing of the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which took place at an airport in Kuala Lumpur with banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent.
Seoul said that North Korea is behind the death of Kim Jong-nam, but the North claimed that Malaysia colluded with South Korea to manipulate its probe into the case. (Yonhap)