PYONGYANG/SEOUL — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has slammed the ongoing military exercises between the United States and the Republic of Korea as "further destroying the stability of the region", reported the official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday.

The exercise, scheduled to run from Monday through March 19, includes 22 field training drills involving actual troop maneuvers, according to the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Seoul and Washington have described the exercise as defensive in nature, but critics say the large-scale war games escalate confrontation in the region. The DPRK has long denounced the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.

Kim Yo-jong, department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the large-scale joint military drill Freedom Shield is not a "military game" but a "provocative and aggressive war rehearsal" designed to simulate and plan confrontation with the DPRK.

"The security sphere of the DPRK is absolutely inviolable," Kim noted, adding that the country will thoroughly defend the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.

Protests staged

The joint military exercises have also drawn protests from civic groups in Seoul.

Outside the venue of a rally in front of the US embassy in the ROK in central Seoul on Monday, activists and civic groups condemned the exercise and called for its immediate suspension. Protesters argued that the joint drills threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula and hinder prospects for inter-Korean reconciliation.

They warned that the Freedom Shield drills could involve advanced weapon systems such as unmanned attack aircraft, strategic reconnaissance assets and new missile systems deployed by US forces in the ROK.

A protest speaker accused Washington of disregarding the safety of the ROK's people while pursuing its geopolitical ambitions.

The demonstrators urged the ROK government to halt joint military exercises with the United States and reconsider reliance on extended deterrence, calling instead for diplomatic engagement to reduce tensions on the peninsula.

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