This March 2, 2019 file photo shows Kim Yo-jong, sister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s leader Kim Jong-un, attending a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam. (JORGE SILVA / POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

PYONGYANG/SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday night urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) to cancel its regular joint military exercises with the United States, and said a summit between DPRK and ROK leaders remains unlikely in the short term, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The joint military drills are "an undesirable prelude which seriously undermines the will of the top leaders of the North and the South wishing to see a step taken toward restoring mutual trust and which beclouds the way ahead of the north-south relations.

Kim Yo-jong, Vice-department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea

The joint military drills are "an undesirable prelude which seriously undermines the will of the top leaders of the North and the South wishing to see a step taken toward restoring mutual trust and which beclouds the way ahead of the north-south relations," said Kim Yo-jong, vice-department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in a statement.

The DPRK is also referred to as North Korea, and the ROK as South Korea.

"Our government and army will closely follow whether the South Korean side stages hostile war exercises in August or makes other bold decision," she said.

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The DPRK has long denounced Seoul and Washington's military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion of DPRK. The two Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean War was ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

In the statement, Kim also accused the ROK government of "inflating the significance" of last week's restoration of the two Koreas' cross-border communication lines, which had been severed for over a year.

Those inside and outside ROK "are freely interpreting" the meaning of restoring communication lines, and "it is a premature hasty judgment" to say that there is a public opinion about the issue of the North-South summit, she said in the statement.

"What I think is that the restoration of the communication liaison lines should not be taken as anything more than just the physical reconnection," said Kim, adding that hasty speculation and groundless interpretation will only bring despair.  

ROK: No decision on drills with US yet

In Seoul, ROK's defense ministry said no decision had been made yet over the joint annual military exercise with the US this summer.

Boo Seung-chan, the ministry's spokesman, said during an online press briefing that nothing was finalized yet over how, when and on which scale the annual ROK-US command post exercise would be conducted, adding that it would be decided by the authorities from both sides.

Lee Jong-joo, spokesperson for ROK's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations, said the ministry would continue efforts to deal with ROK-US military drills in a wise and flexible manner so as not to escalate military tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Boo said Seoul and Washington were in close consultations over the issue taking into account the overall situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the combined defense posture, the transfer of the wartime operational control, and the support for diplomatic efforts to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee Jong-joo, spokesperson for ROK's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations, said the ministry would continue efforts to deal with ROK-US military drills in a wise and flexible manner so as not to escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

An unnamed high-ranking official from the ministry told local reporters last week that it would be "desirable" to delay the summertime joint military exercise given the pandemic resurgence and the need to engage the DPRK.

Meanwhile, speaking on the restored inter-Korean communication hotlines, Lee said it was a starting point to restore the long-severed inter-Korean relations and trust, noting that the ROK government will gradually enhance relations with DPRK to let the restored hotlines lead to the resumed inter-Korean dialogue.

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According to the spokesperson, ROK proposed last week to DPRK about discussing ways to set up a system for virtual talks between the two Koreas. Pyongyang has yet to respond to the proposal.