The drills, which will kick off next week, are a "direct military provocation" against North Korea, Pyongyang said.

"The armed forces of the DPRK will cope with the war drills of the US and (South Korea) with thoroughgoing and resolute counteraction posture... at the level of the right to self-defence," North Korean defence chief No Kwang Chol said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea's defense chief on Monday condemned an upcoming large-scale joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea and warned of "negative consequences."

North Korea warns of "resolute counteraction" to US-South Korea military drills, amidst signs of easing tensions between North and South Korea. Annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises set for August 18-28 aim to contain nuclear-armed North,

North Korea's defense chief on Monday warned that Pyongyang would exercise its "self-defense" right in the event of a provocation, denouncing a planned large-scale joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States.

South Korea’s military said Saturday it detected North Korea removing some of its loudspeakers from the inter-Korean border, days after the South dismantled its own front-line speakers used for anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts,