Seoul, May 13 (IANS/DPA): North Korea has warned allies of the US, including Germany, France and Britain, to stop provoking tension in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang denounced the "military interference" in the region "under the pretext of monitoring violation of UN sanctions" in a statement carried by state-controlled news agency KCNA on Monday.

North Korea warned Germany, France, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to "immediately stop the provocations of causing tension and instability," KCNA reported.

"Western countries should ponder over the fact that their unreasonable and blind policy of following the US is an act of harming their own interests."

Pyongyang would "take necessary measures to firmly defend the sovereignty and security of the state," the statement said.

In April, the US held a two-day training exercise involving the navies of South Korea and Japan.

Earlier this month, an Australian helicopter surveying North Korea was intercepted by a Chinese warplane in international airspace, while a Canadian plane was intercepted in similar circumstances in October.

Tensions on the peninsula are very high. Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has significantly increased the scope of its weapons tests, including the testing of nuclear-capable missiles, and has stepped up its rhetoric against the US and South Korea, both of which Pyongyang considers to be enemy states.