US Joint Drills Pushed Situation To 'Extreme Red-Line', Says North Korea

North Korea said the joint drills by the US have pushed the situation to an 'extreme red-line' and threatened to turn the peninsula into a "huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone."

File Photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued a statement against the joint drills by the United States and its allies, saying the move has pushed the situation to an "extreme red-line" and threatened to turn the peninsula into a "huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone."

The statement, from the state news agency KCNA, said Pyongyang was not interested in dialogue till Washington maintains hostile policies, reported news agency Reuters.

The statement cited US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Seoul on Tuesday in which Austin and his South Korean counterpart vowed to expand military drills. Both leaders vowed to deploy more "strategic assets," such as aircraft carriers and long-range bombers, to counter North Korea's weapons development and prevent a war.

Austin then said the trip aimed at tackling shared security challenges and reaffirming the US commitment to South Korea as "ironclad" during heightened tension and provocation.

"The military and political situation on the Korean peninsula and in the region has reached an extreme red-line due to the reckless military confrontational maneuvers and hostile acts of the US and its vassal forces," the statement quoted an unnamed ministry spokesperson as saying.

In Washington, the White House rejected the North Korean statement and reiterated a willingness to meet with North Korean diplomats "at a time and place convenient for them."

"We have made clear we have no hostile intent toward the DPRK and seek serious and sustained diplomacy to address the full range of issues of concern to both countries and the region," said a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

"This is a vivid expression of the US dangerous scenario which will result in turning the Korean peninsula into a huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone," the North Korean statement said.