PYONGYANG, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday blamed the United States for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, citing the U.S. nuclear threat, U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and sanctions against Pyongyang as examples.
An unnamed spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry attributed the current tense situation to the United States in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
"The U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail, joint military exercises, sanctions and other moves to stifle the DPRK are the root cause of pushing the situation on the peninsula to the brink of a clash of nuclear weapons," the statement said.
The statement condemned the United States for making the DPRK a target for "preemptive nuclear attack," adding that the threat from the United States has existed for the past several decades.
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