In the midst of ongoing joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has stated that it may attack without warning against what it claims are preparations for an enemy invasion by the West.

As the militaries of both Seoul and Washington cooperate in the annual Foal Eagle and Key Resolve drills, Pyongyang has stridently voiced its opposition to the maneuvers by threatening an attack.

North Korean news agency KCNA, citing the general staff of the Korean People’s Army, stated on Sunday that, “They should be mindful that the [North Korean Army] will deal deadly blows without prior warning any time as long as troops of the US and South Korean puppet forces involved in the ‘special operation’ and ‘preemptive attack’ targeting the DPRK remain deployed in and around South Korea.”

The DPRK, which regularly claims that it is under incipient attack from the West and its regional allies, has conducted ongoing ballistic missile and underground nuclear weapons testing, in violation of several international treaties sponsored by Moscow and Washington, including the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The latest threats from Pyongyang occur as ongoing large-scale military drills take place within sight of the increasingly insulated northern state, resulting in rising tensions on the peninsula that could, according to critics, result in hair-trigger military moves.