The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday accused the US of launching the Ulji Focus Lens military exercises in South Korea, saying the 12-day joint maneuvers were intended to block the process of dialogue between the DPRK and South Korea.

"The North-targeted military exercise launched by the US in South Korea is a grave challenge and mockery of the expectation and desire of the Korean nation and the world community and this can neither be understandable nor justifiable," a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said in an interview with the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK's official news agency.

The annual Ulji Focus Lens military exercises will last from Aug. 19 to 30, with a focus on cooperation between the South Korean and US troops in case of emergency.

The military exercises prove that the US spares no efforts in chilling the Koreans'desire for reconciliation and dialogue between the north and the south, while paying lip-service to the inter-Korean dialogue, said the spokesman.

The DPRK and South Korea held the 7th round of ministerial talks from Aug. 12 to 14, achieving a ten-point agreement coveringeconomic, humanitarian and military issues. This was followed by the Aug. 15 meeting for National Reunification in Seoul, which putinter-Korean dialogue back on a normal track after the deadlock over the June 29 naval incident in the Yellow Sea.

"The US is well advised to behave itself, and ponder over the consequences to be entailed by its reckless actions," the spokesman warned.

The Korean Central News Agency also issued a commentary on Tuesday, demanding an end to the Ulji Focus Lens military exercises.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2002)