North Korea has warned that it will not hesitate to counter any preemptive attack by South Korea.

The North’s Minister of People’s Armed Forces, Kim Il-chol, made the warning Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the 17th anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s nomination as the North Korean military’s supreme commander.

He blasted the South Korean government and defense establishments for allegedly conducting military exercises every day that target the North and for driving inter-Korean relations into the current strained state.

Pyongyang made similar warnings of a preemptive attack in March and October.