DPRK calls ROK military drills 'grave provocation'
CGTN

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) lashed out at Republic of Korea (ROK) over recent military drills, state media reported on Friday.

A DPRK military representative said on Friday that recent ROK military drills were a grave provocation that demanded a reaction, according to a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The recent drill served as an opportunity which awakened us once again to the obvious fact that the enemies remain enemies all the time," the statement said.

The DPRK cited a military exercise by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Air Combat Command on Wednesday, and said the drills violated inter-Korean agreements aimed at reducing military tensions.

The ROK soldiers patrol along a barbed wire fence in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating DPRK and ROK, on the ROK island of Ganghwa, April 23, 2020. /AFP

The ROK soldiers patrol along a barbed wire fence in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating DPRK and ROK, on the ROK island of Ganghwa, April 23, 2020. /AFP

"Everything is now going back to the starting point before the north-south summit meeting in 2018," the statement said.

On Sunday, the ROK said the DPRK troops fired multiple shots toward a ROK guard post at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two countries.

The ROK troops responded by firing warning shots, but no casualties were reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the shots fired by DPRK were likely "accidental."

Read more:

Multiple gunshots fired from DPRK hit ROK guard post

Pompeo: Sunday gunfire exchange at Korean DMZ likely 'accidental'

(With input from Reuters)