North Korea's state media criticized the United States for allegedly seeking to increase the roles of the United Nations Command (UNC), calling it a "reckless move" running against peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and Asia.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said on Sunday that the United States' move to enhance the UNC's future roles and status instead of disbanding it makes a mockery of South Koreans opposing foreign forces' control of its military.

The criticism comes amid concerns about the United States' alleged position that the commander of the U.S.-led UNC should keep a commanding authority over South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff during wartime even after its planned transfer of wartime operational control of Korean troops.

Regarding the concerns, the paper claimed that Washington revealed its intent again to maintain its control of South Korean troops while holding South Korea in the chains of alliance.