Seoul, Sep 5 (IANS):  North Korea on Thursday denounced a major military exercise between South Korea and the United States last month, warning the allies will have to pay a "dear price" for what it called "provocative war" drills.

An unnamed chief of the public information office at North Korea's Defence Ministry issued the statement a week after the annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise ended its 11-day run on Thursday.

"The Korean People's Army will never tolerate the US and ROK's military moves threatening the security environment on the Korean peninsula," the official said, using the acronym of South Korea's official name -- the Republic of Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

"The hostile forces can never evade the heavy responsibility for escalating tension and will have to pay a dear price."

Pyongyang has long condemned the allies' joint military drills, accusing them of being rehearsals for an invasion against it. Seoul and Washington have rejected the claims, saying their drills are defensive in nature.

The official also took aim at the allies' other military drills, including the Ssang Yong exercise set to conclude Friday. Ssang Yong is focused on training the Allies' marines in amphibious landing operations.

"(The exercise) is an extremely reckless and dangerous military racket presupposing an open invasion upon the sacred territory of North Korea," the official said.

Pyongyang had relatively remained silent during the UFS this year, without launching any ballistic missiles or staging other major provocations.

Observers say the North appears to be focused on recovery efforts after heavy downpours in late July flooded large areas in the northern provinces of Jagang and North Phyongan, displacing thousands of people.