North Korea Wednesday criticised a "mad" upcoming major military exercise by the United States and South Korea, saying it heightens the danger of war.
The drill "proves South Korean warmongers are going crazier in provoking a war regardless of the people's desire for dialogue and peace", said Pyongyang's government newspaper Minju Joson.
The annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle drill, starting next Monday and ending on March 10, will take place amid high tensions on the peninsula following two deadly border incidents last year.
The North's shelling of a South Korean border island last November killed four people including civilians and briefly sparked fears of war.
Seoul says Pyongyang also torpedoed one of its warships near the disputed Yellow Sea border last March, a charge it denies.
Inter-Korean military talks aimed at easing tensions broke down this month.
The newspaper, quoted by the North's official news agency, said the South's authorities "have answered our suggestion of wide-ranging talks with a mad military exercise.
"With South Korean warmongers' reckless war provocations, the inter-Korean relationship is worsening and the danger of war is increasing day by day," it said.
The United States bases 28,500 troops in the South to deter any attack from the North. It says the annual drill is defensive while the North habitually describes it as a rehearsal for invasion.
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