N.Korea says U.S.-S.Korea drills push tension to 'brink of nuclear war'

A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber (top) and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets take part in a joint air drill in South Korea, March 3, 2023. The South Korean Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea accused the U.S. and South Korea of escalating tensions to the brink of nuclear war through their joint military drills, vowing to respond with "offensive action," state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

KCNA released a commentary by Choe Ju Hyon, whom it called an international security analyst, criticising the exercises as "a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion."