Rodong Sinmun Monday observes in a commentary in this regard:

The U.S. and the south Korean authorities, when kicking off Ulji Freedom Guardian, described the drills as "annual" and "defensive" but with no rhetoric could they cover up their aggressive nature.

The joint military drills only hurt the fundamental interests of the nation and incite mistrust and confrontation between the north and the south.

Military threat will never help resolve any issue. Confrontation and conflict are harmful to both the north and the south and will only create an uncontrollable situation. The north and the south should keep afloat the hard-won trend of detente and develop it. What arouses serious concern of the public at home and abroad against this background is that the south Korean authorities staged together with the U.S. the largest-ever 2015integrated firepower annihilation drill targeting the DPRK on August 28, a few days after the north-south high-level urgent contact.

The drill is nothing helpful to stabilizing the situation.

It goes without saying that such military provocations rattling the nerves of the dialogue partner and ratcheting up the tension will only chill the atmosphere of improving the north-south relations and do harm to the stable management of the situation.

We will never tolerate any provocation detrimental to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The south Korean authorities should halt the aggressive war drills with outsiders targeting the dialogue partner and positively respond to the joint efforts for defusing the danger of war and achieving peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.