Inter-Korean contact will be "difficult" unless South Korea cancels August's joint military exercises with the United States or provides a plausible explanation regarding their purpose, a senior North Korean official said Sunday.

The comments, issued by Director-General of the foreign ministry's Department of American Affairs Kwon Jong Gun, came shortly after DPRK state media published photos of a missile test on Saturday widely thought to be a reaction to the U.S.-ROK exercises.