North Korea demanded at high-level talks with South Korea Wednesday that Seoul should stop the maneuvers for the sake of inter-Korean peace.

"In conclusion, we have no plan to do so," Ban told a weekly briefing.

"As long as there exists a danger of military conflict on the Korean peninsula, the South Korea-US military drills cannot but continue. That's the firm stance of our government."

The South Korean foreign minister defended the war games as "defensive" adding Seoul has informed Pyongyang of schedules on the drills in advance.

Kwon Ho-Ung, a chief North Korean delegate to the cabinet-level talks claimed that the drills were aimed at preparing attacks on the communist state.

Under a mutual defense treaty, South Korean and US military forces have conducted annual joint exercises largely to thwart North Korean military threats.

South Korea has been home to some 37,000 US troops since the 1950-1953 Korean War which ended in a fragile armistice, not a permanent peace treaty.

The two Koreas, which are still technically at war, have pushed for reconciliation since a historic peace summit between their leaders in 2000.

WAR.WIRE