Pyongyang,  August  13 (KCNA) -- 

A spokesman for  the Foreign Ministry  of  theDPRK released a statement on Thursday in connection with the fact that the U.S.announced it would stage together with south Korean puppet forces aggressive UljiFreedom Guardian joint military drills targeting the DPRK from August 17.    Accusing the U.S. of again trying to cover up the aggressive nature and danger ofthe drills by describing them as "annual and defensive" ones, the statement said:    In actuality, the U.S. is plugging the DPRK into an arms race through ceaselesswar drills and arms build-up in a sinister bid to throw hurdles in its efforts to develop its economy and improve the standard of its people's living and force them to liveunder a touch-and-go situation and thus seek an opportunity for a preemptive attackupon it.    The U.S. projected war rehearsal clearly proves that the U.S. is the arch criminalsparking off a vicious cycle of escalating confrontation and tension and creating thedanger of a war on the Korean peninsula.    The DPRK is no longer what used to be in the 1950s. It has strong military muscleto cope with any mode of war desired by the U.S. The U.S. had better know that its aggressive and provocative large-scale war drillsare no longer issues confined to the DPRK-U.S. relations and the relations betweenthe north and the south of Korea but have become an international issue as the drillsharass peace and security in Northeast Asia and other parts of Asia and the world.    If  the  U.S.  persistently  opts  for  military  confrontation  despite  the  repeatedwarnings of the DPRK and the unanimous censure by the international community, itwill be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences.    We will not indefinitely wait for the switch of the U.S. Korea policy while havingour sovereignty and security being threatened, but make all necessary steps to deterthe U.S. nuclear provocation.