North Korea did not release its denouncement against the joint U. S. -South Kore

The U.S. military announced on Monday that it would conduct two joint military exercises with South Korea next month, although it said the annual maneuvers are not related to the nuclear dispute with North Korea. North Korea has denounced past joint U. S.-South Korea maneuvers as preparations for an invasion. The North Korean threat was issued Monday by the spokesman of the North Korean military’s mission to Panmunjom, a truce village where the American-led U.N. Command and the North Korean military meet to oversee the armistice. North Korean did not release the statement until Tuesday morning. The U. N. Command, which supervises the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, had no immediate comment on the statement.