The North's official news agency reported the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland as saying Pyongyang will bolster its nuclear deterrence in a more advanced way to cope with the joint South Korea-U.S. military drills currently being held in South Korean waters.

The committee’s spokesman said that Pyongyang is unfazed by the U.S. and South Korean governments’ attempt to warn the North through a show of military force. The spokesman added that North Korea tends to respond in kind to force and sanctions.

The committee also said the issue should be worked out through dialogue and negotiations at the United Nations. It also claimed that the mention of sanctions was inappropriate when discussions were ongoing with the U.S. regarding the dispatch of a probe team.

Previously, the North Korean National Defense Committee warned that it would launch a retaliatory war based on nuclear deterrence in response to the South Korea-U.S. military drills.