North Korea Monday urged South Korea and the United States to cancel

North Korea Monday urged South Korea and the United States to cancel their upcoming annual joint exercise if they want to see a thaw in relations as well as denuclearization.

The exercise is preparation for “a war of aggression” against the North and will involve “nuclear war maneuvers”, its military said in an open letter published by the official news agency.

The US and South Korea “should show their willingness to denuclearize the peninsula in the eyes of the world by cancelling the projected nuclear war exercises”, it said.

The 10-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise from August 16 is an annual computer-assisted simulation command-post exercise.

US and South Korean officials described it as defensive and routine but the North habitually terms such joint drills a rehearsal for invasion.

The letter said Seoul and Washington should show their willingness for denuclearization by making “a bold policy decision” to cancel the exercise.

Denuclearization includes the removal of nuclear threats to North Korea, it said, warning that the US and South Korea would not remain safe in case of a new war.

The letter comes amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to resume stalled six-party disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the United States.

Source AFP