An ongoing and "provocative combined aerial drill" between South Korea and the U.S. will necessitate a "corresponding response" from North Korea's army, a press statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC) said on Thursday.

The remark, issued by one of the DPRK departments responsible for inter-Korean issues, slammed what's been described as a scaled-back alternative to canceled Max Thunder drills as "an open violation" of 2018's inter-Korean military declaration.