Recent U.S.-ROK military drills escalated confrontation with Russia and China and increased the possibility of “nuclear war” on the Korean Peninsula, according to North Korea’s state news agency on Sunday.

The 1,500-word report attributed to the International Politics Research Institute and published by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) marks the DPRK’s highest-level statement to date on the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint drills, which concluded last Thursday after a two-week run.

“The U.S. has never in the past been in the habit of such an unprecedented level of hostile activities and nuclear blackmail against us,” the article states, blaming Washington