Hanoi, Vietnam (CNN) -- North Korea vowed Friday that there would be a "physical response" in reaction to the planned joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.
"There will be a physical response against the threat imposed by the United States militarily," North Korea spokesman Ri Tong Il told reporters outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting.
About 8,000 military personnel from the United States and South Korea are scheduled to participate in joint military exercises beginning this weekend.
Earlier Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sharply criticized North Korea in prepared remarks at the meeting.
"Peaceful resolution of the issues on the Korean Peninsula will be possible only if North Korea fundamentally changes its behavior," she said.
Clinton said North Korea was responsible for the March attack on South Korea's Cheonan warship, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.
An international investigation blamed North Korea for the sinking, an assertion the North has denied. Earlier this month, the United Nations formally condemned the sinking of the ship, but did not specifically name North Korea.
But Clinton was clear in her condemnation Friday.
CNN
