North Korea, meanwhile, continued its harsh rhetoric threatening of an all-out war that would turn Seoul into a "sea of fire."
State-run broadcasters including Korean Central Television aired the statement by the People's Army on Sunday in which Pyeongyang threatened to retaliate, accusing Seoul and Washington of trying to eliminate its nuclear and missile capabilities and to topple the Kim Jong-il regime.
And in response to the North's belligerent stance, South Korea's Unification Ministry said the military drills were defensive in nature and that calling the exercise an act of aggression or provocation would not serve to improve the inter-Korean relations.