China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, on Monday condemned the ongoing US-South Korea joint military drills saying the exercises could endanger the peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and trigger a war.

The two-week military drills named 'Operation Ulchi Freedom Exercise' involves 25,000 US forces and 50,000 South Korean troops.

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The position of the US military in the peninsula and Seoul's resolve to counter North Korea's nuclear threats will leave a "vicious cycle of violence for violence" and could lead to war if the military drills are mishandled, Xinhua said.

Military confrontation

China is currently conducting military drills in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea to equip its troops to effectively respond to threats in the disputed sea.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis, in a press briefing, said the US military drills with Seoul is part of its preparation for a possible military confrontation with Pyongyang.

"The drills are designed to make sure the United States can honor obligations to defend South Korea against any potential aggression from the North," he said.

Davis added that the military exercise is a yearly event between the two nations and that the drills are 100 percent defensive in nature.

Non-provocative

US military officials said they had earlier notified North Korea that the military exercises were "non-provocative" in nature, but Pyongyang accused the US that the drills were being held as a prelude to an invasion.

Pyongyang had threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike if the two nations continue their military drills in the peninsula.

"The nuclear warmongers should bear in mind that if they show the slightest sign of aggression, it would turn the stronghold of provocation into a heap of ashes," a North Korean army spokesman said in a statement.

THAAD

The US-South Korean military drills have raised tensions anew between Beijing and Seoul following China's denunciation of the US and South Korea's plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system to Korea.

Beijing said deploying the anti-missile system to Korea would jeopardize the security situation in the peninsula and that the missile system may be used against China later on.

US and South Korean officials have repeatedly sought to allay Beijing's fears saying the missile system will solely be used as a defense against North Korea's nuclear strikes.

TagsUS-South Korean military exercise, THAAD, North Korea, nuclear strikes, china