N Korea says US drills pushing situation to ‘extreme red-line’

North Korea has lambasted South Korea and the United States over their joint military exercises, saying the drills have pushed the situation on the Korean peninsula to an “extreme red line” and have threatened to turn the region into a “huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone”.

The North Korean statement, issued on Thursday, also threatened the “toughest” response and said Pyongyang was not interested in dialogue as long as Washington pursued what it called “hostile” policies.