North Korea: Nuclear disarmament is off if military exercises proceed

North Korea said Sunday that if the U.S. moves forward with a South Korean military exercise, nuclear disarmament is off.

"The maneuvers clearly indicate once again that the U.S. and the South Korean authorities are the harassers of peace and warmongers keen to bring a war to this land," a statement from the government-run Korean Central News Agency said.

China said Friday it was hoping to restart stalled six-party talks with North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia before July by dangling the promise of aid to Pyongyang.

North Korea said the joint exercises would not only kill the possiblity of restarting talks, but encourage the communist country to beef up its nuclear arsenal.

"The process for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will naturally come to a standstill and (North Korea) will bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense," the statement said.

On Friday, North Korea had urged the U.S. to call off the joint military exercises.

A commentary in the government newspaper Minju Joson said "the United States and the south Korean puppet army are working with bloodshot eyes to make a preemptive attack on the DPRK any moment while staging Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises."

"...Should the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet warmongers launch the joint military exercises for aggression defying the DPRK's repeated warnings, the KPA will react to them with strong military counteraction and, if necessary, mobilize all its offensive and defensive means including nuclear deterrent to mercilessly destroy their bulwark of aggression."