Update at 16:30 EST: This article has been updated to include comments from a Pentagon spokesperson.

A senior North Korean diplomat said the country was “nearing the limitations” of its patience over planned military drills between the U.S. and South Korea next month, according to a statement put out by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday.

The official, Kwon Jong Gun, described next month’s “Vigilant Ace” air defense drills — an annual training exercise between the two allies — as an attempt to extinguish the “spark” of dialogue, and accused the Americans of deliberately seeking conflict with the