North Korea has asked South Korea to halt its joint military exercises with the United States. 

The official newspaper of the North’s Workers' Party, the Rodong Sinmun, ran an editorial on Thursday that said the South Korean government should stop all military acts with foreign forces against its own compatriots if it truly wants to settle peace and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. 

The paper said that Seoul's reinforcement of military power and massive military drills with foreign forces is a major factor that escalates military tensions between the two Koreas and brings the regional situation to an unpredictable perilous phase. 

The North then urged South Korea not to engage in actions that deteriorate the situation and to make efforts to ease military tensions. 

The two Koreas agreed to hold military talks during Tuesday's high-level inter-Korean talks. North Korea is expected to demand Seoul stop its joint military drills with the U.S. and loudspeaker propaganda campaigns.