North Korea on Friday denounced planned joint military drills by the United States and South Korea, warning that they would face "unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions" from Pyongyang, according to state-run media.

"With just apprehension and reason," the North regards the planned exercises as "preparations for an aggression war," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesperson for the country's Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement.

The United States and South Korea are scheduled to conduct tabletop exercises next Wednesday that includes scenario-planning a North Korean nuclear attack, as well as another round of joint military drills in March.

In the statement, the spokesperson also criticized the U.N. Security Council for not addressing the bilateral military demonstrations, saying they only take issue with the North's "exercise of its just and legitimate right" to self-defense.

"If the UNSC continues to be inveigled by the U.S. as the latter wishes, the DPRK will be compelled to reconsider measures for additional actions, to say nothing of the category of normal military activities," KCNA said, referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

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