North Korea has urged the United Nations to draw attention to what it views as the danger of joint US-South Korea military drills, saying that they pose a threat to global peace and security, its state media said Thursday.

Ja Song-nam, the North Korean representative to the UN, made the appeal in a letter he sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 

South Korea and the US kicked off the two-month Foal Eagle combat training exercise on March 1 and the computer-based war game Key Resolve started last week for a two-week run.     

Pyongyang has long called the exercises rehearsals for a northern invasion despite Seoul and Washington's assurance that they are defensive in nature. 

In the letter, the North also denounced the UN for not responding to its request to bring the joint military exercise up for discussion but taking issue with what it sees as an "ordinary" military drill happening on its own soil, according to the KCNA.

(Yonhap)