North Korea condemns US-South Korea drills despite Trump order to scale back

North Korea denounced military drills by the U.S. and South Korea, saying it would continue exercising its right to self-defence to counter what it called

military threats from the two countries, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.



A KCNA commentary called the U.S. and South Korea "warmongers" that raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula, denouncing the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.



The criticism comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" U.S. participation in the annual exercise, and mentioned his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.



Trump also said on Monday that Kim had responded to his outreach, without disclosing the nature of the contact.