North Korea has threatened to take more aggressive military action as it protested the annual Security Consultative Meeting(SCM) held by Seoul and Washington earlier in the week.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency released a statement by the defense ministry’s spokesperson on Thursday blaming the U.S. and its followers for worsening state affairs, mentioning the latest visit by U.S. officials to Seoul and the SCM.

The defense ministry said South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are demonstrating that their military readiness against the North is not of defensive nature but aimed at invading the North by force.

In making such an assessment, the ministry cited Seoul and Washington’s revision of the 2013 Tailored Deterrence Strategy and a plan by South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to launch a real-time sharing of warning information on North Korean missiles within the year.

The ministry said the North will strongly tackle all threats to its safety and interests with military action that is more aggressive, strategic and tangible.

The latest statement is the North’s first reaction to the SCM, which was held in Seoul earlier on Monday, with speculation that the release was issued by Pyongyang to justify future provocations, including the launch of military reconnaissance satellites or missiles.