PYONGYANG, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday accused the United States of trying to form an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through a U.S.-Japan-South Korea military alliance.

The official daily Rodong Sinmun (Labor News) said in an article that the U.S.-Japan-South Korea triangular military alliance has "reached the phase of full-scale activation."

"The U.S. aggressor forces, the 'Self-Defense Forces' of Japan and the South Korean puppet army recently conducted a large-scale drill for intercepting missiles from the DPRK," it said.

"The U.S. is claiming that the drill and the naval joint drill with Japan are independent of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military drills. But this is no more than a lame excuse," said the article.

The daily claimed the missile intercepting drill is directly related to the drill being staged under the simulated conditions of executing "Operation 4D" and deploying Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), the key phase of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle."

"The same can be said of the joint drill conducted by a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier task force and warships of the Japan Self Defense Forces," it said.

The United States and South Korea have been conducting since early this month a large scale joint military exercise "Foal Eagle," which was condemned by the DPRK as aimed at staging precision strikes against targets in the DPRK, including hitting its supreme leadership and military installations.