North Korea has warned of the “toughest counteraction” against any attempt to infringe on its sovereignty, blasting South Korea and the United States over their combined air drills.

The North Korean foreign ministry issued the warning in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.

The ministry said that Pyongyang had clearly warned that if the United States does not wish to see a grave situation hurting its own security interests, it should stop at once the provocative combined air drill Vigilant Storm.

The statement said that the United States, however, ignored the North’s demands by staging combined air drills for aggressive purposes while extending the training period over North Korea’s legitimate self-defensive countermeasure and called for a United Nations Security Council meeting.

The ministry called the U.S. acts as “irresponsible and reckless,” denouncing the air operation as grave encroachment upon the security of a sovereign state and a shameless challenge to the international community's desire for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and the region.

Pyongyang reportedly said that it will never tolerate any attempt of hostile forces to infringe upon its sovereignty and security interests and will respond to it with the toughest counteraction.

The North defended its military exercises as “due reaction and warning” to the hostile provocations, claiming that the grave military confrontation situation was caused by the United States and South Korea staging the largest-ever joint air drill.