North Korea has warned South Korea and the United States against a planned military drill next month

North Korea has warned South Korea and the United States against a planned military drill next month, saying the move will fuel tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The warning was made on Wednesday in an article in Pyongyang’s ruling party daily, the Rodong Sinmun, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.

“South Korea and the United States plan to conduct a military exercise next month with the United Nations Command getting involved,” the article read.

“If the drill takes place, conditions in the region will become unpredictable and escalate to the brink of war,” it added.

Seoul and Washington are scheduled to hold the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise in South Korea in mid-August. The drill is reportedly aimed at improving their defensive stance against potential attacks by the North.

The UFG drill is one of the two major exercises that have been held annually by the two allies since the 1970s. Pyongyang has condemned it as a preparation of war.

South Korea has staged a series of military exercises separately or jointly with the US since December 2012, when Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket which it said put a satellite into orbit.

The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of military rhetoric over the past few months.

North Korea blocked access to jointly-run Kaesong Industrial Zone and withdrew its 53,000 employees in April amid rising tensions with Seoul.

South Korea insisted that the closure was a unilateral move by the North. However, Pyongyang argued that antagonistic measures and threats by South Korea, particularly a series of joint military exercises with the US, led to the closure of Kaesong.