North Korea blamed the South for stoking tensions on the peninsula by conducting joint military exercises with the United States and deploying high-tech U.S. fighter jets.

The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said in a statement late Thursday that Seoul has its mind set on staging attack drills targeting Pyongyang and increasing military power to retrogress from peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula.

The committee stressed Seoul's aggression forced the suspension of the two Koreas' high-level talks to implement an agreement reached by their leaders in Panmunjeom in April of last year.

It also slammed South Korea's "frantic arms build-up against fellow countrymen," citing its deployment of U.S.-made F-35A stealth fighters.

The committee then warned Seoul will "pay a high price" for prompting Pyongyang to take steps to eliminate national security threats and thereby escalating tensions on the peninsula.

It was the committee's first statement criticizing South Korea since April 25th, when it lashed out at South Korea-U.S. joint air force exercises.

[Photo : YONHAP News]