North Korea lashed out at South Korea on Friday over recent military drills, calling them a "grave provocation" and violation of inter-Korean agreements aimed at reducing military tension. 

North Korea took issue with a joint military exercise in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday by South Korea's Air Force Air Combat Command and the Navy's Second Fleet. 

In a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesperson for the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces denounced the joint drill as "the height of the military confrontation."

The spokesperson added that the drill was carried out assuming there were "strange signs" and "provocation" from North Korea. 

The spokesperson said everything is now going back to before the inter-Korean summit meeting in 2018, adding the drill cannot be overlooked and should be met with a necessary reaction from the North.

[Photo : YONHAP News]