North Korea blasts South for unilateral military drills

May 27 (UPI) -- North Korea is condemning South Korea for holding unilateral exercises weeks after Pyongyang conducted multiple short-range missile tests.

KCNA and Rodong Sinmun stated Tuesday the drills in the South that began on Monday, known as Ulchi Taegeuk exercises, was a "provocation." Pyongyang's state media also mentioned South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon had held a meeting May 14 to prepare for the training.

The text of the articles did not delve deeply into criticism, however. North Korea mostly provided details of the kind of training that took place.

North Korea has shown a stronger response to the South's statement on recent tests of short-range missiles. Seoul's defense ministry had said the tests were in violation of the inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018. North Korea challenged the tests were a violation in a recent statement, according to South Korean news service Newsis.

Pyongyang has previously criticized the South for holding joint air force exercises with the United States, despite the decision to scale down the training.

The denunciations of the South's policy come at a time when North Korea could be seeking interconnectivity with neighboring countries.

Russia's Tass news agency reported the North Korean Minister of Railways Jang Hyok left for Moscow on Monday from Pyongyang station.

Jang is expected to attend a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Cooperation of Railways, or OSJD, in Uzbekistan.

The meeting is scheduled for June 5 to 7, which leaves Jang time to spend in Moscow, meeting with Russian counterparts.

The Russian embassy in Pyongyang highlighted Jang's trip on its Facebook page.

The OSJD was founded in 1956 and counts 29 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, China and North Korea among its members.

South Korea attended the ministerial meeting for the first time in 2018 with North Korea's consent, according to Yonhap. Seoul could be sending delegates again to the meeting in June.

The two Koreas have discussed reconnecting an abandoned railroad, but progress has been stalled following the breakdown of nuclear talks in Hanoi, Vietnam.