The statement said that the Ulji Freedom Guardian joint military exercises kicked off by the U.S. and the south Korean puppet authorities across south Korea were a wanton violation of the Korean Armistice Agreement and a grave threat to the peace in the Korean Peninsula and the world.

It urged the U.S. and south Korea to respect the presidential statement of the UNSC which calls for peacefully solving the pending issues of the peninsula through dialogue and negotiations.

It is the legitimate right of the DPRK to bolster its deterrent for self-defence to cope with the evermore undisguised moves of the U.S. and the south Korean puppet authorities to escalate the confrontation with the DPRK and provoke a war against it, the statement noted.

Denouncing the above-said war maneuvers for aggression, the statement urged the U.S. and the south Korean puppet authorities to stop them at once.