Flags of the DPRK, rear, and ROK, front, flutter in the wind as pictured from the border area between two Koreas in Paju, ROK, Aug 9, 2021. (IM BYUNG-SHIK/YONHAP VIA AP)

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) slammed the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday for pushing ahead with planned military drills with the United States and warned of "serious security crisis."

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In a press statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yong-chol, department director of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said, "as we have already clarified, we will make them realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice."

Kim Yong-chol, department director of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, stressed that the planned ROK-US military exercises "would be an unfavorable prelude further beclouding the future of the inter-Korean relations"

Kim made the remarks one day after Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, issued a similar warning: "the choice of hope or despair is totally up to the South Korean authorities." The ROK is also referred to as South Korea.

He stressed that the planned ROK-US military exercises "would be an unfavorable prelude further beclouding the future of the inter-Korean relations."

"But the South Korean authorities have now revealed that peace and trust much touted by them whenever an opportunity presented itself were just a wordplay," said Kim Yong-chol, who is in charge of ROK affairs in the country.

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The ROK "must be made to clearly understand how dearly they have to pay for answering our good faith with hostile acts after letting go the opportunity for improved inter-Korean relations," he added.

Despite strong opposition from Pyongyang, the ROK and the United States started their four-day preliminary drills on Tuesday and the joint military exercises are expected to run through next week from Aug 16 to 26.

The leaders of both DPRK and ROK agreed to resume the inter-Korean hotlines two weeks ago, which was cut off for more than a year. The North has since demanded that the South suspend drills to accelerate a thaw in the strained inter-Korean relations.