North Korea has long condemned joint South Korea-US military exercises. (Source: Yonhap)

On September 4, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that this week, the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultative Group (EDSCG), the two countries' main deterrence dialogue body, held a meeting in Washington.

On the South Korean side, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Vice Defense Minister for Policy Cho Chang-rae attended.

Representing the United States were Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Cara Abercrombie.

At the meeting, the two US officials reiterated Washington's "unwavering" security commitment to Seoul, noting that any North Korean nuclear attack on the US or its allies would result in severe consequences for Pyongyang.

For his part, Vice Minister Kim Hong-kyun stressed: "North Korea has not given up on developing nuclear and missile capabilities and continues to take actions such as disrupting GPS signals and launching balloons filled with garbage."

According to him, in such cases, Seoul and Washington assess that "the possibility of North Korea conducting significant provocations before or after the US presidential election cannot be completely ruled out."

Meanwhile, on the North Korean side, on September 5, Pyongyang condemned the large-scale military exercise between South Korea and the US last month, a week after the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise ended on August 29.

"The Korean People's Army will never tolerate the military moves of the US and South Korea that threaten the security environment on the peninsula," an unnamed official from the public information office at the North Korean Defense Ministry said.

According to this person, "hostile forces can never shirk their heavy responsibility in escalating tensions and will pay a heavy price."

Pyongyang has long denounced joint South Korea-US military exercises, accusing them of being rehearsals for an invasion of North Korea. Seoul and Washington have denied the accusations, saying their exercises are defensive in nature.