A senior North Korean official has expressed discontent with South Korea while attending a global forum in Beijing 

Speaking to a KBS reporter at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Friday morning, North Korea's External Economic Affairs Minister Kim Yong-jae expressed displeasure over what he calls South Korea's cautious attitude towards the United States.

He said the South promised not to hold joint military drills with Washington during inter-Korean summit talks but that they are in fact carrying out the drills just under a different name. 

He was apparently referring to a statement issued by North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which criticized recent South Korea-U.S. joint Air Force drills as a violation of a cross-border military agreement signed last September.

The minister blasted Seoul for engaging in military exercises after pledging peaceful economic cooperation with Pyongyang, claiming that South Korea is doing what it's told to do by the Americans and that this should not be the case.

On denenuclearization, the North Korean official said his country is not bothered by sanctions and urged the U.S. to change course.