The annual exercise dubbed "Freedom Shield," which kicks off on Monday, is "a dangerous provocative act of leading the acute situation on the Korean Peninsula, which may spark off a physical conflict between the two sides by means of an accidental single shot, to the extreme point," said North Korea's Foreign Ministry in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The statement also accused Seoul and Washington of "persistently staging the large-scale joint military exercises" despite Pyongyang's repeated warnings.
It added, "The U.S. should be mindful that its habitual hostile policy toward the [North]..... will only add justification to the principle of toughest anti-U.S. counteraction," warning that Washington will also "face the undesirable consequences."
North Korea has often reacted with fury to such joint drills between South Korea and the U.S.
This year's exercise, the first major military drill of its kind since U.S. President Donald Trump began his non-consecutive second term in January, runs until March 20.
It involves aircraft, warships, and tanks, conducting computer-simulated drills along with field training to strengthen the two allies' combined defense posture against North Korean threats and other security challenges.
But there will be no live-fire drills following last week's accident in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province where fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs outside a training range during a drill. The number of injured has now increased to dozens of people, with nearly 150 homes damaged.
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