PYONGYANG - The official news agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday condemned the recent bilateral and multilateral joint military drills held by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea, saying that "the destruction of the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula and in the region will never be allowed."

The US-led hostile forces are desperately intensifying military cooperation on the assumption that nuclear weapons would be used, posing a serious threat to the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary.

The United States and Japan are staging actual maneuvers Resolute Dragon on the largest scale ever seen from Thursday, with huge forces and latest war hardware involved, it said, adding that the United States is going to hold with the ROK the third nuclear operation drill dubbed Iron Mace simulating a full-scale nuclear war from Monday.

ALSO READ: DPRK's top leader inspects weapons institutes

The United States, Japan and the ROK will also launch the third multi-domain joint military exercises Freedom Edge, said the commentary.

The military actions targeting the DPRK and the regional states are dramatically increasing in scale on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity, indicating that the US-Japan-ROK nuclear military alliance with the United States as its axis has entered full operation, it said.

"This is evidently an alarming development that seriously threatens the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region," it noted.

The present situation urgently requires the DPRK to further enhance the readiness of its nuclear force and to thoroughly counter the aggressive military activities of the United States, Japan and the ROK with absolute military strength, it added.