North Korea on Wednesday blamed the United States for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The North’s primary state-run paper, the Rodong Simnum, said in a commentary that the U.S.' “hostile policy” is pushing the North to take “self-defense countermeasures” to eliminate potential and direct threats. 

Citing the combined military drill between Seoul and Washington that wrapped up on Tuesday, as well as South Korea's recent purchase of U.S.-made military assets, the paper said the “U.S. war rehearsal and its military enhancement scheme are raising tensions in the region.”

The North then warned that if tensions intensify, relations cannot be improved, adding that there will be no constructive dialogue and genuine peace amid confrontation.

The latest criticism comes while U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is in Seoul for meetings with South Korean officials on the North’s denuclearization.

In recent weeks, Pyongyang has mostly directed its criticism at South Korea over the joint military exercise, refraining from directly criticizing the U.S.