Russia’s foreign ministry expressed concern about ongoing U.S.-South Korea military drills on Wednesday, calling the first-large scale exercises in years “counterproductive and dangerous” in an implicit endorsement of North Korea’s position.

In an official statement, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova also blamed the sending of “propaganda materials” into North Korea for exacerbating tensions, in an apparent reference to balloon launches by South Korean activists that the DPRK has blamed for spreading COVID-19 into the country. 

“We are concerned about the situation unfolding on the Korean Peninsula, which has recently escalated in connection with the resumption of large-scale joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and the Republic of Korea, as well as inflammatory distribution of propaganda materials to North Korea from South Korea,” the diplomat said, according to Tass news agency’s translation of the statement.

Moscow’s foreign ministry also calls for a diplomatic solution to “tension” on the peninsula “without the intervention of external forces” and highlights “Russian-Chinese initiatives” to diffuse conflict, likely referring to their endorsement of dialogue and relieving international sanctions on the DPRK. 

The U.S. and South Korea began the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises on Monday, marking the first joint field training exercises of their kind since 2018. The drills are defensive in nature and include practice on how to repel a DPRK invasion and counterattack, according to Seoul and Washington. 

North Korean propagandists have condemned the start of the “hostile” drills and called them practice to “invade,” while warning of a “military response.” But higher-level North Korean state media has yet to comment on the exercises. 

South Korea’s defense minister warned earlier this month that Pyongyang might conduct “strategic and tactical provocations” timed around the joint drills.

Russia’s condemnation of sending “propaganda” to the North came the same day that prominent North Korean defector-activist Park Sang-hak told NK News that he plans to launch more balloons carrying COVID-19 aid and leaflets toward the DPRK “in the coming days.” 

Pyongyang has denounced the balloon launches as a grave provocation for years, and earlier this month, the North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong blamed leaflets for spreading COVID-19 into the country and threatened to retaliate if Seoul allows them to be sent again.

Health experts say it is very unlikely that the COVID-19 virus can spread from the surfaces of objects, but in an interview with Russian media published on Monday, Moscow’s Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora defended the DPRK’s conclusions about the origins of its COVID-19 outbreak and suggested that Seoul make efforts to stop the balloon launches.

Moscow and Pyongyang have recently made calls to bolster ties, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un exchanging letters as their countries face increasing isolation on the international stage. North Korea has also voiced support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in recent months recognized and pledged to send workers to Russian-backed breakaway regions in Ukraine’s Donbas region. 

Edited by Bryan Betts