SEOUL, Aug. 14 (UPI) — North Korea on Friday condemned an upcoming major U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise, calling it a rehearsal for an “aggressive war” and warning that Pyongyang will respond to any threats with “overwhelming force.”

An unnamed spokesperson for the North’s Foreign Ministry made the comments in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The spokesperson said this year’s 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which kicks off Monday, is more provocative than previous versions, claiming it is intended to “complete preparations for the substantial military confrontation with the DPRK.”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

U.S. and South Korean officials said earlier this week that the exercise would draw on the evolving nature of modern warfare as seen in recent conflicts, including threats from drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks.

A U.S. Forces Korea spokesman also said that North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia, including its deployment of troops to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine, will be factored into the exercise.

“It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the KCNA statement said.

North Korea routinely denounces the allies’ joint exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and frequently responds with weapons tests. On Wednesday, Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, Seoul’s military said, less than a week after a similar launch.

The United States and South Korea stressed this week that the exercise, which runs from Aug. 17-27, is defensive in nature.

In a press statement issued Friday, the U.S. Eighth Army said Ulchi Freedom Shield will include a combined arms live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting, a wet gap crossing and detainee processing training in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman also criticized growing trilateral cooperation among the United States, South Korea and Japan, calling it a “nuclear alliance” and saying it amplifies the danger posed by the upcoming exercise.

“The DPRK remains steadfast in its will to frustrate outsiders’ hostile acts with the most powerful and overwhelming force and absolutely defend the supreme interests of the state security,” the statement said.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry noted Friday that the statement was the North’s first official comment on the upcoming military exercise.

“We view the statement as reflecting their assessment of the current security environment,” ministry spokeswoman Chang Yoon-jeong said during a regular press briefing.

In a separate statement carried by KCNA Friday, North Korea said it would continue to expand and strengthen its nuclear deterrent. An unnamed military commentator accused the Pentagon of drafting a new strategy to lower the threshold for nuclear weapons use, which risks pushing the world to the “threshold of nuclear war.”

The commentary cited foreign media reports that the new U.S. strategy would emphasize the use of tactical nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with China or Russia.

“This shows that the U.S. nuclear strategy is offensively turning into the one for using nukes in real war from so-called one for deterrence,” the commentary said.

“We will as ever steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear deterrent for self-defense … and make the enemy states realize the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by their adventurous option against the DPRK,” it added.