BEIJING - China on Thursday dismissed the possibility of launching a joint military exercise with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a countermeasure to upcoming drills by the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The US and ROK are considering holding continuous joint military exercises within the year to deter Pyongyang in the wake of the sinking of an ROK warship in March, Seoul-based media reported on the same day.

"The US is considering that as the countermeasure for the Cheonan incident the joint military exercise should not be held just once, but should go on continuously so as to send clear messages to Pyongyang," an unnamed diplomatic source in Washington told Seoul's Chosun Ilbo (Korea Daily News).