The Unification Ministry denounced North Korea Wednesday for demanding ongoing military drills between South Korea and the United States be suspended as a condition for permitting a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea on Tuesday urged Seoul and Washington to suspend their joint military drills, linking the issue to whether it will accept Seoul's offer for holding the reunion.

Jeong Joon-hee, the ministry's spokesman, slammed the North's tactics.

"The joint military exercises are transparent and regular, with a defensive purpose. The issue of the family reunion should be handled from a humanitarian perspective as it guarantees urgency," Jeong told a regular press briefing. "The Seoul government believes that the North's move is overstretched and improper."

South Korea and the U.S. kicked off their annual joint military drills on Monday, which Pyongyang called a "declaration of war" and denounced as a war rehearsal for an invasion of the North.

President Park Geun-hye said last week that South Korea will send the North a list of about 60,000 family members for possible reunions with their relatives in North Korea. (Yonhap)