The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday criticized joint military exercises to be held by U.S. and South Korea, saying the manuevers were no more than "bluffing" under the growing might of the DPRK's "Military First" policy, the official news agency KCNA reported.

"The projected saber-rattling assumes a more dangerous nature as it is set to take place after the U.S. made a shift in its military strategy to attaching importance to Asia, and the Lee Myung Bak group is making desperate efforts to seek a way out of the crisis in the run-up to elections," said a statement issued by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.

The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises, according to the statement, was "a ridiculous trick" to justify their policy for escalating the confrontation, shift blame for the deteriorated inter-Korean relations to the north.

The moves brought to light the fact that the "dialogue" and "flexibility" talked about by the two countries is no more than a lie, the statement added.

It was reported that the exercises will be held from the end of February to late April with more than 200,000 troops and huge inventories of cutting-edge military hardware.