North Korea vowed Wednesday to bolster its nuclear deterrent, describing an exercise by U.S. and South Korean forces as preparation for a "war of aggression" against the communist state.

The 10-day drill, which began Tuesday, showed the U.S. wasn't committed to dialogue over nuclear disarmament, a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement published by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

"The prevailing situation goes to prove that the U.S. is not set to realize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula through dialogue and negotiations," he said.

"It is self-evident that the DPRK ( North Korea ) should put spurs to bolstering its nuclear deterrent for self-defense both in quality and quantity to cope with this situation.

"It is preposterous for the U.S. to urge the DPRK to refrain from bolstering its nuclear deterrent, while whetting its swords for a war of aggression behind the scene of dialogue."

Any aggressive action against the North would face "merciless counteraction," the spokesman said.

During the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise U.S. and South Korean troops will simulate the detection and destruction of North Korean atomic bombs, missiles and chemical weapons, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The two countries have described the annual exercise as defensive and routine.

However, the North last week urged Washington and Seoul to show their willingness to work toward denuclearization by scrapping the exercise.

Pyongyang published an open letter in its state media, which also called for a peacekeeping mechanism to replace the current armistice that ended the 1950-53 war.

Diplomatic efforts have been under way to resume stalled six-party disarmament talks involving the Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the U.S.

Senior Pyongyang officials met their counterparts in Seoul and Washington last month, raising hopes that the talks--last held in December 2008--could resume.

The North has repeatedly expressed a desire to return to the forum, but Washington has urged it to show more sincerity and mend ties with the South first.

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