The resumption of US and South Korean military exercises violated a recent agreement aimed at reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korean official newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.

On November 5, South Korea and the US began the two-week Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), which involves about 500 troops from South Korea's Marine Corps and the US III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed in Japan's Okinawa.

The North Korean publication believes that these drills violated the agreement between Pyongyang and Seoul, which called for an end to all hostile actions.

A spokesman for the South Korean Defense Ministry dismissed criticism, noting it was a defensive drills involving small units.