SEOUL– North Korea on Friday slammed South Korea and the United States for extending their combined air drills and vowed to take the “toughest counteraction” against any attempt to infringe on the sovereignty of its regime.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Cental News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the North’s foreign ministry said the grave security situation was “evidently caused by the U.S. and South Korea” for staging the largest-ever joint air strike drill as it warned Washington against acting “rashly.”

“The DPRK once again clarifies that it will never tolerate any attempt of the hostile forces to infringe upon its sovereignty and security interests but respond to it with the toughest counteraction to the last,” it said, using North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

“The DPRK has already clearly warned that if the U.S. does not wish to see a grave situation hurting its own security interests to happen, it should stop at once the provocative combined air drill Vigilant Storm,” it added.

South Korea and the U.S. were scheduled to end the five-day Vigilant Storm drills on Friday, with around 240 aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, mobilized around the Korean Peninsula. But they decided to extend it in response to North Korea’s firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency