North Korea has made a formal request to the United Nations to add to its agenda an upcoming joint military drill between the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korea's deputy ambassador to the UN, Ri Dong-il, held an emergency news conference at the New York headquarters, saying the drill, known as the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, is a threat to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula. 

Ri said the request for the joint military drill to be dealt with by the UN Security Council (UNSC) had been made late last month.

This is the first time North Korea has raised issue with the South Korea-U.S. military drill at the UN.

The deputy ambassador also said the U.S. has taken part in roughly 18-thousand military exercises since the signing of the Korean War armistice and should the Security Council fail to discuss this issue, all responsibility for the events to take place after, including a war, would fall on the council and the U.S.

Ri stated if the UNSC were to ignore the North's requests and the U.S. continues to participate in large-scale military exercises with South Korea, it would justify all North Korean responses, including missile launches and the development of nuclear programs.

Ri added, however, the military drill would not affect the North's decision to participate in the Asian Games set to take place in South Korea in September.